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Singapore seeks to form air transport bubbles with countries and territories that have managed the Covid-19 pandemic well. While most of them have some sort of arrangement for business and official travel, especially within their own borders, many are reluctant to open up to mass travel as nations battle the resurgence of the coronavirus. Straits Times correspondents Elizabeth Law, Katherine Wei, Jonathan Pearlman, Chang May Choon, Claire Huang, Tan Hui Yee, Walter Sim and Eileen Ng report on how the region has responded to Singapore’s proposal to form air travel bubbles.
CHINA
China is the first country with which Singapore established a reciprocal green lane agreement, to facilitate essential commercial and official travel between the two countries, in late May. While the world’s second-largest economy has gradually relaxed the rules to allow certain business travelers and foreigners with residence permits to return to the country, it has failed to fully reopen its borders.
China “will gradually expand the scale of foreign personnel movements,” but virus control and public health remain priorities, the Foreign Ministry said.
The pandemic is largely under control in the country, and the majority of the dozen cases reported daily are imported.
Travel companies are especially interested in resuming international travel, especially to places with zero cases.
Taiwan
As Taiwan is focused on ensuring its Covid-19 count remains low (it has 527 cases and hasn’t registered a local one in months), its Foreign Ministry said any travel arrangements between Taiwan and Singapore will depend on “control of the Singapore epidemic “. state”.
The ministry said it will continue to closely monitor relevant information and developments in the epidemic, and will keep the Epidemic Central Command Center informed accordingly. Future discussions will take place based on the decision of the center.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Australia and New Zealand have been cautious about relaxing travel restrictions and have not announced plans to remove restrictions on travelers arriving from Singapore.
On October 8, Singapore began allowing Australians, except those in Victoria, to enter without undergoing quarantine. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stoked the excitement yesterday after saying Australia is in talks with several countries, including Singapore, about resuming travel.
Kate Baldock, CEO of AustCham Singapore, said the resumption of travel would greatly help businesses in both countries. “There is much to learn from the way Singapore is reopening its borders in a post-Covid scenario. We welcome Prime Minister Morrison’s comments and look forward to the Singapore-Australia travel resuming in the near future.”
New Zealand is unlikely to lift its border restrictions anytime soon. It prohibits access to non-citizens and non-residents, and requires those who are allowed to enter the country to quarantine themselves.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea already has a green lane agreement for Singapore business travelers since early last month, and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will consider opening up to other travelers after ensuring the “smooth implementation” of the fast track procedures.
The Singapore office of the Korea Tourism Organization has already received many inquiries from travel agencies, hotels and other tourism-related partners, said its director Charles Lim. He added that his office is making efforts to ensure that an air travel bubble in pleasure travel between the two countries can be achieved as soon as possible.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong has started talks with 11 jurisdictions, including Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, about a travel bubble, as the local travel industry has called for residents to be allowed to travel abroad without the need for a quarantine in destination countries and beyond. returning home.
Hong Kong planned to have a travel bubble with China’s Guangdong province and neighboring Macao, but the initiative stalled due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in July and August in the Asian financial hub.
Since then, the number of cases has stabilized and, to increase visitor confidence in the city, Hong Kong has launched a hygiene protocol for tourism-related industries.
THAILAND
Thailand has one of the lowest numbers of confirmed cases in Asia, with just over 3,600 cases. The kingdom was due to host its first group of foreign tourists this month, but this has been delayed due to what tourism officials describe as administrative problems.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said it has reached out to Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong to negotiate special travel arrangements. These countries and territories were selected for, among other reasons, their “robust” public health system, success in reducing local transmissions, and strong economic cooperation with Thailand.
JAPAN
Japan is unlikely to resume leisure travel, even through a travel bubble, anytime soon, although observers believe this will give a much-needed boost to its tourism industry.
While policies like “leisure travel bubbles” will naturally save the ailing tourism industry, Toyo University tourism management expert Kazuaki Sasaki said the industry will immediately become “social outcasts” if there is a increase in Covid-19 cases.
While there is no loosening of the ban on leisure visitors, the Yomiuri newspaper reported last Thursday that Japan will reduce its travel advisories for 12 places, including Singapore, starting next month.
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