Australia is on track to reopen its borders to international travelers by the holiday season, the country’s minister for trade, tourism and investments, Dan Tehan, said on Wednesday. Currently, you cannot visit Australia unless you’re an Australian citizen, permanent resident or in an exempt category.
In order to reopen as planned, according to CNN, the country will need to reach at least an 80 percent national vaccination rate. As of now, 60 percent of Australians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 38 percent are fully immunized. To help the reopening plan, as reported by Reuters, Australia earlier this month secured 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, doubling availability. In addition, over summer, Tourism Australia debuted a new marketing campaign, “It’s Our Best Shot for Travel”—aimed not at international travelers but rather citizens to get vaccinated.
Inbound travelers will need to have proof of shots approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration, which includes Pfizer, AstraZenica, Moderna and Janssen Cilag.
Good to know: Australia is looking to rest a vaccine passport with a number of countries, including the United States. According to the CNN report, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Australia's neighboring Pacific islands are also to be included.
In August, Qantas announced its plans for resuming international flights: From mid-December 2021, flights would start from Australia to COVID-safe destinations, which are likely to include the United States, Singapore, Japan, the U.K. and Canada using Boeing 787s, Airbus A330s, and 737s and A320s for services to Fiji. Five A380s will return to service ahead of schedule; these would fly between Sydney and Los Angeles from July 2022, and between Sydney and London (via Singapore) from November 2022.
Related Stories
Princess Extends Cruise Pause in Australia
U.S. Reopening Borders to Vaccinated Travelers in November