No US and Europe trips until 2022: Grim news as Australians face long wait for flights to tourist hotspots – but New Zealand travel bubble will open up this week
Australians won’t be able to travel to the Unites States or Europe until 2022, Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has warned.
It comes as a number of European countries, including the United Kingdom, saw a spike in coronavirus cases last week, dashing hopes of a travel bubble with Australia.
But offering a glimmer of hope, Mr Birmingham said Australians could be heading to New Zealand by the end of the year.
‘We are beginning to open up to New Zealand because of their similarly strong COVID outcomes and it may be possible to do likewise with other low risk nations,’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘However, the prospects of opening up widespread travel with higher risk countries will remain very reliant on effective vaccination or other major breakthroughs in the management of COVID.’
Mr Birmingham said international travel to higher risk nations ‘can’t be done at the expense of our health and economic strength at home’.
New South Wales and the Northern Territory will allow New Zealand visitors from October 16, prompting government plans to set up a two-way travel bubble across the ditch before the end of the year.
‘Our arrangement with New Zealand will provide a blueprint to prove up the model of how we run safe corridors – green lanes of international visitors coming in and out of Australia – and whether this can be extended to other similarly low risk countries down the track,’ he said.
More to come.