Only fifty-six international flights should land in Australia within 24 hours of reopening, well below the pandemic levels.
Le Monde with AFP
Nearly two years that tourists can no longer cross the Australian borders, blocked by restrictions on the world’s most severe trips to combat the spread of CVIV-19. But “the wait is over,” said Australian Prime Minister Sunday evening Scott Morrison at a press conference. Australia reopened Monday, February 21st (Sunday, February 20 at night, French time) its borders outside all vaccinated tourists
“Make your bags”, launched Mr. Morrison to the potential visitors of the Île-Continent, adding: “Do not forget to bring your money with you, because you will find many places to spend it” . The closure of the borders cost 2.27 billion euros each month, according to the country’s chamber of commerce and industry.
“Conalizing signs” as for the resumption of tourism
The first international flight to Sydney airport was to arrive from Los Angeles Monday 6 hour, Australian time (20 hours, Paris time), followed by others from Tokyo, Vancouver or Singapore. Only fifty-six international flights should land in Australia within 24 hours of the reopening of the borders, well below the pre-pandemic levels. Scott Morrison, however, said that “no doubt” on the fact that this number would increase with time.
To attract tourists, the Australian government has launched an advertising campaign of $ 40 million (€ 25 million). But the Australian Council (ATEC) in International Tourism has evoked “disturbing signs” concerning a reluctance of foreigners to return to Australia, because of the various internal restrictions on the trips, and the image that would have left the closure Draconian of the country for two years.
For example, travelers can not join the vast state of Western Australia before March 3rd. In this region, the authorities have led in recent months a particularly strict policy called “zero Covid”, the cutting of the rest of Australia.
“Fortress Australia”
Australia had closed its borders in March 2020, trying to take part of its insularity to protect themselves from the pandemic. At first, for several months, this draconian closure and a strict screening and tracing policy have made it possible to contain the effects of the virus.
The arrival of the Omicron variant then aggravated the situation, leading to tens of thousands of contaminations and dozens of deaths a day. In total, in almost two years, COVID-19 made 4,913 dead in Australia. More than 15,200 new cases have been identified Sunday, very below the 277,619 History Peak of January 30th.
During these two years, the Australians have, most of the time, not allowed to get out of their country, and only a few visitors obtained a derogation to enter the territory, which has earned the nickname in the country of “Fortress Australia”. These restrictions separated from families, undermine the tourism sector and sparked debates on the status of Australia as an open, modern and outward-looking country.