International tourists and business travelers start arriving in Australia with lesser restrictions

Published on : Monday, February 21, 2022

International tourists and business travelers started arriving in Australia with lesser restrictions on Monday, reuniting families after separations of two years or moredue to some of the most draconian pandemic measures in the world.

Australia shit down its borders for tourists in March 2020 for curbing the local spread of COVID-19; however, on Monday, it removed its final travel restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers.

Tearful British tourist Sue Witton hugged her son Simon Witton when he greeted her at Melbourne airport.

“Seven hundred and twenty-four (days) apart and he’s my only son, and I’m alone, so this means the world to me,” said Sue.

Travelers were greeted at Sydney’s airport by ecstatic well-wishers waving toy koalas and Australian foods including Tim Tams chocolate cookies and jars of Vegemite spread.

Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehanalso welcomed the first arrivals on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles which landed at 6:20 a.m. local time.

“I think there’ll be a very strong rebound in our tourism market. Our wonderful experiences haven’t gone away,” said Tehan.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said that all travelers’ vaccination status would be checked before their arrival to avoid repetition of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa debacle.

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said that she expects tourist numbers to take two years to go back to pre-pandemic levels.

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