Australia to ease border restrictions

Australia’s export tourism industry, 1 October, welcomed the announcement of the reopening of international borders beginning next month. The move is being seen as the first phase of the roadmap for reopening international borders for both outbound and inbound travel. The announcement confirmed restrictions will be lifted in November for fully vaccinated Australians on all inbound and outbound travel from states that reach the 80% double vaccination rate. Peter Shelley (pictured), managing director of the Australia Tourism Export Council, said: “While the announcement is the first step in the reopening, giving the green light to Australians wanting to travel overseas, it marks a shift in thinking within both the Government and community sentiment to re-engaging with the world. This is the start of the long road to recovery for a tourism industry which has taken a AUD$100bn (US$73bn) economic hit according to research released by Tourism Research Australia.” “As businesses attempt to harness their limited remaining finances and dramatically reduced staff to rebuild in readiness for attracting and servicing international visitors in the future, they will continue to require support from all levels of Government,” Shelley added. The announcement on the easing has been made possible due to 44% of Australia’s population now being fully vaccinated, which aligns with the national transition plan out of the pandemic.