Although it may take years before people can travel again, politicians from New Zealand and Australia are discussing the possibility of opening up borders to each other and creating a travel corridor between the two countries. The "travel bubble" will give both nations a way to continue their transactions while taking precautions against the coronavirus.
Both New Zealand and Australia shut their borders to foreigners in March, and it caused a massive blow to their tourism industries. However, with both nations appearing to have successfully brought their coronavirus cases under control, the politicians from both nations are now talking about opening their borders to each other.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that New Zealand is the country that they can reconnect with first. The country would like to reconnect with New Zealand but their main focus at the moment is making sure that both countries can manage COVID-19 domestically until both are confident enough to open the borders.
It is still not clear when the "travel bubble" will happen since both countries have domestic travel restrictions and all international arrivals are subject to a 14-day quarantine. Travel industry experts predict that August is when the borders will open, as it is in time for the ski season in New Zealand and the school holidays in September.
How would it work?
Every person traveling from one territory to another will be subject to a 14-day self-quarantine. Airports will also need to roll out new procedures. Chris, Roberts, the chief executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, which represents the tourism industry in New Zealand, said that he envisions a future where tourists may turn up to the airport, get tested for the coronavirus, and only be allowed to travel once they've got a negative result. As soon as the passengers arrive at the destination, they may have their temperature checked.
According to Roberts and Simon Westaway, the executive director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, the travel bubble would only work if the current 14-day quarantine period for people entering the country is removed. Once the travel bubble is tried and tested, New Zealand may extend the bubble into other territories such as Taiwan and HongKong.
Is the bubble the future of travel?
A potential New Zealand and Australia travel bubble may end up being a model for the rest of the world. Like other countries, Australia and New Zealand will need to be careful not to move too fast and create a second COVID-19 wave.
Moving too fast and pushing for travel too soon could jeopardize the image of both countries. But Roberts and Westaway are hopeful that the travel bubble could be done safely and effectively and can soon be applied to other countries.
The world is paying attention to the moves of New Zealand and Australia as both countries were able to contain the virus outbreak. If both countries could successfully come up with a safe way to travel, other countries will take a very keen interest to see how it works and may apply it in their respective nations.
