April 15, 2021
The Asia-Pacific region boasts some of the most successful pandemic stories, with places like Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia bringing local new cases down to zero or single digits. Now, this exclusive club of Covid-19 champions is launching long-awaited travel bubbles, offering a glimpse of what post-pandemic international travel will look like as the world lines up for vaccines.
After several delays, a relatively unrestricted bubble is set to launch on Monday (April 19) between two of the world’s most Covid-19 cautious countries, Australia and New Zealand. According to the New Zealand tourism department, it won’t involve mandatory testing, proof of vaccination, or quarantines, but passengers must wear masks during their flights and agree to be tracked via app for contact tracing purposes, and those with cold or flu symptoms can’t travel. Officials on both sides hope to recoup some part of their pre-Covid travel—in 2019, an estimated 1.5 million Australian tourists vacationed in New Zealand and roughly the same number of New Zealanders followed suit in Australia.