CANBERRA: Australians are unlikely to be able to visit popular destinations like the US and UK until next year, according to experts, as the federal government faces challenges in reopening borders.
Major obstacles exist in opening up destinations other than New Zealand, which are considered to have poorly or inadequately managed the spread of the coronavirus, according to leading travel health experts.
New Zealand, which has enjoyed similar success to Australia in containing the spread of COVID-19, was identified this week by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as the likely first overseas border to be reopened to Australian holidaymakers.
Even though Professor Brendan Murphy, Australia’s chief medical officer, said this week that international travel should not resume sooner than in “three or four months”, travel health specialists believe it could take longer, raising serious implications for the survival of both inbound and outbound tourism operators.
Professor Adam Kamradt-Scott, who specializes in global health security and international relations at the University of Sydney, said that Australians need to be prepared to postpone overseas travel for at least the next six months, meaning that overseas travel beyond New Zealand may not resume to any real extent until 2021.
“The fact is that this is a pandemic, and we are still in the early phase,” he said. “While there are some European countries, along with Australia and New Zealand, that appear to have turned the corner in terms of the trajectory of cases, there are many countries where the impact of COVID-19 is yet to be fully realised.
“As a result, the virus will continue to circulate throughout a significant proportion of countries for several months and possibly even up to a year. That means there is an ongoing risk to Australia from any incoming traveller and we don’t want Australians travelling abroad unless it is for the most exceptional of circumstances.”
