How to reconcile tourism and anti-Covid-19 health measures? Two years into the pandemic, governments still seem to set their rules independently of their neighbors. We go to Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Australia welcomes double vaccinated
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday February 7 the reopening of the country’s borders to tourists, almost two years after having closed the door to them. Foreigners will be welcome from February 21, provided they meet certain conditions. After the Djokovic saga, the essential condition is to present a complete vaccination schedule. Currently, that means two doses, but the country could soon switch to three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Without this double vaccination, you have to apply for a waiver, which is only granted in a very limited number of cases. Finally, you must also present a negative test before boarding.
The doors are therefore not yet wide open, but it is already a huge relief for tourism professionals, a sector of activity which normally brings in around 30 billion euros per year. Since the closure of the country’s borders in March 2020, they have been in very great difficulty. That being said, the recovery of tourism in Australia is not necessarily going to be dazzling. First, because the state of Western Australia remains closed for the moment, not only to foreign tourists but also to the rest of Australia. In this state, which was to reopen last weekend, the authorities announced that finally, they would keep the borders closed, and this for an indefinite period.
In another step forwards in our economic recovery, we’ll be welcoming all fully vaccinated travelers from 21 February. It’s also great news for our tourism sector, the Australians they employ and for those wanting to reunite with loved ones. pic.twitter.com/9qDrqlLtCK
— Karen Andrews MP (@karenandrewsmp) February 7, 2022
And then, the other problem is that the countries which usually send the most tourists to Australia still apply very heavy measures to their fellow citizens returning from abroad. This is the case of China, where you have to spend 15 days in supervised quarantine when you return from another country but also from New Zealand, where returning tourists have to spend ten days in isolation at home. However, these two contingents alone represent more than 30% of foreign tourists visiting Australia and nearly a third of tourist receipts.
Any vacation plan in New Zealand – which has been a health bubble since the start of the pandemic – remains unthinkable before this summer. Because even if as in Australia, more than 90% of the New Zealand population is vaccinated, tourists will not be able to go there before July. And this reopening of the borders will only concern tourists who do not usually need a visa to go there. This is the case for some sixty countries, including those of the European Union but also, for example, the United States. For all the others, you will have to wait until October.
Japan delays reopening again
In Japan, despite a very short and restricted airlock last November, the borders of the archipelago remain closed. This is called “sakoku”, a term used to describe the total closure of the country during the Edo period between the 17th and 19th centuries. This time, it’s been going on for two years but it’s already starting to get long for some. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, however, never ceases to congratulate himself on this policy of banning entry of foreigners, which makes him popular: “Japan is the G7 country that has taken the toughest border measures. The current arrangements will be maintained until the end of the month.”
The reopening deadline keeps getting pushed back, but in reality the Omicron variant still entered the country without a visa. Indeed, Japan keeps the door closed to foreigners but authorizes the Japanese and residents of the archipelago to travel outside and to return, sometimes contaminated.
As of January 29, the conditions for entering Japan for residents from France are changing: quarantine is reduced to 7 days
For more info ➡️ https://t.co/bjOeILdvbq
— France in Japan (@ambafrancejp) January 31, 2022
That Japan prevents foreign tourists from coming can be understood, but this closure also affects business travelers, or the unmarried foreign partners of Japanese nationals who have been living apart, sometimes for two years. The government can decide on exceptions, for example for foreign delegations to the Tokyo Olympics last summer, but this is completely discretionary.
The most dramatic are foreign students who for two years have not been able to come to Japan, with very rare exceptions, as the Prime Minister explains: “With regard to foreign students, we accept entries on individual files, in the event of particular humanitarian circumstances and according to the national interest”. Of nearly 150,000 students waiting, only 87 entered in January, and 400 will be allowed in February.
For others like Ngiah, who lives in Switzerland, the process continues, in vain: “I still continued with the hope that the borders would open as they went, but unfortunately today this is still not the case.” He takes online classes in the middle of the night because of jet lag. “Unfortunately I pay a normal rate, as if I came to Tokyo to study. I had quite a few classmates who dropped out precisely because of this financial concern”, despairs Ngiah. Many students now prefer to go to South Korea, Japan’s rival country in Asia, which welcomes them with open arms.