Australia announced that they will opening their borders back up to fully vaccinated foreign tourists. The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, confirmed this after a meeting with the national security committee on Feb. 7th.
“The National Security Committee and Cabinet has decided today that Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on the 21st of February,” Morrison said following the meeting.
Australia has been in near complete lockdown since March of 2020. The country has slowly been opening back up since November, letting tourists from New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan in with certain qualifications.
“Your visa is one thing, but your entry into Australia requires you also to be double vaccinated and I think events earlier in the year should have sent a very clear message I think to everyone around the world that that is the requirement to enter into Australia,” Morrison said.
The Prime Minister hopes that this re-opening will give a much needed boost to the tourism industry. The tourism board released an ad back in 2021 saying “It’s Out Best Shot for Travel” hoping to get more Australians to get vaccinated and get the borders open again.