Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia has announced that the nation Down Under will open its borders to fully vaccinated tourists from February 21. This development comes after two years when the country shut its orders due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Australia had one of the toughest restrictions to curtail the spread of the pandemic, and the measures were in force for nearly two long years.
“It’s almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia,” Morrison said. “Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on the 21st of February of this year.”
“The condition is you must be double vaccinated to come to Australia. That’s the rule. Everyone is expected to abide by it,” he added.
The state governments, however, will continue to enforce their own quarantine rules.
The tourism industry in Australia has been hart-hit, which, generated over USD 84.9 billion in annual revenue prior to the pandemic, according to Tourism Australia. The annual revenue of the tourism sector plunged by 41% in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Australia and New Zealand had to suspend the trans-Tasman travel bubble after the emergence of