National
Vaccinated tourists from Singapore to be allowed into Australia
Australia will reopen to another group of tourists later this month as it slowly begins to remove its COVID-19 restrictions.
Fully vaccinated Singaporeans will be allowed to visit Australia from November 21.
It will be the first time tourists from the Asian country have been allowed to come to Australia since March, 2020.
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They won’t have to quarantine and will only initially be able to travel to Sydney and Melbourne, due to the removal of hotel quarantine and flight caps.
Like all people coming to Australia- which currently is limited to citizens, PRs and immediate family – travellers must test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of getting on the plane.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the agreement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rome, following a meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong.
“Australia is slinging its doors open to fully vaccinated Singaporean travellers in November,” Mr Morrison said.
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“This is another significant milestone in our step by step approach to safely reopening to the world that we outlined in the National Plan.
“It follows the announcement this week that fully vaccinated travellers from New Zealand will be welcomed back in October.
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“This means within weeks Australia will be welcoming tourists from two of our top ten travel destinations. This is the billion dollar boost that Australia’s tourism industry has been waiting for.
“Step by step, everything that we know and love about Australia is inching back to normal.”
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Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Senator Marise Payne said the arrangement followed Singapore’s plan to welcome fully vaccinated Australians.
“Many Australians live and work in Singapore and vice versa. The strong exchanges over many decades have been to the benefit of both our nations,” Minister Payne said.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said it was “just the start of our international tourism comeback,”
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“Australia’s tourism operators and the sector’s 660,000 workers will welcome back with open arms visitors from Singapore,” Mr Tehan said.
