Tourism Australia has announced the country will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from around the world on February 21, 2022.
The decision builds on quarantine-free travel arrangements with Singapore, which came into effect in November 2021, and for visitors from Japan and South Korea which were launched a month later. The reopening comes almost two years after Australia closed its international borders in March 2020.
“This is to ensure we protect the health of Australians, while we continue to secure our economic recovery,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“The announcement enables fully vaccinated travelers from Britain to Australia quarantine-free from February 21 and is a significant step in rebuilding international visitation from Australia’s international tourism markets across the globe,” Tourism Australia managing director, Phillipa Harrison, said.
“Australia has long been a popular outbound destination for British travelers, with more than 700,000 visitors travelling to our country annually pre-Covid-19, and we are really excited that we will have the opportunity to welcome back visitors from the UK, one of our key international markets, as travel resumes.”
She added: “Throughout the pandemic Tourism Australia has maintained an active presence to keep Australia top of mind in the market.
“Now, with the reopening of travel from Britain to Australia, Tourism Australia will be working with its trade and distribution partners on dedicated marketing campaigns to urge travelers to come and enjoy all the incredible tourism experiences that await them in Australia.”
The Australian government has announced the country will reopen to all fully vaccinated visa holders, tourists, business travelers and other visitors from later this month. Visa holders who are not fully vaccinated will still require a valid travel exemption to enter Australia, and will be subject to state and territory quarantine requirements.
Tourism Australia will be launching a new tourism campaign to welcome leisure travelers back to Australia in the coming weeks.
As part of this campaign, Tourism Australia will be working with a range of key distribution and airline partners to drive booking and drive recovery for Australia’s hard-hit tourism economy by providing tactical offers aimed at stimulating travel to Australia from the UK.
