Australia welcomes tourists again
People reunite with family and friends as nation opens its borders to vaccinated travelers
Australia fully reopened its international borders on Feb 21 to travelers vaccinated against the coronavirus as tourists returned and hundreds of people reunited with family and friends.
Damian McClellan, who runs the ecotourism business Ecotreasures in Sydney, is among the many Australians welcoming the revival of international tourism, which had been battered by COVID-19 restrictions. He told Xinhua that the past two years had been “catastrophic” for his business.
After being away from loved ones for months, there were many emotional reunions, including Cindy Moss who traveled from the US state of Kentucky to see her daughter.
“I just haven’t seen her in so long and it was such a big thing to be able to get over here. So I’m so excited,” she
said after hugging her daughter, her voice cracking with emotion.
Before the pandemic, Australia’s
tourism sector was a key driver of economic growth. In the financial year 2018-19, it generated A$60.8 billion
($44 billion), or 3.1 percent of the country’s GDP, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The tap for international tourism abruptly went dry as Australia closed its borders in March 2020.
Margy Osmond, chief executive of the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia, said, “Our industry has faced so many challenges over the last two years, but it is renowned for being resilient and I have every faith it will bounce back better and bigger than before.”
Across the Tasman Sea, Tourism Export Council of New Zealand’s chief executive Lynda Keene said: “We hadn’t expected Australia to set a date as early as Feb 21, so it’s taken us by surprise.”
Tim Soutphommasane, a professor of sociology at the University of Sydney, said the reopening of borders meant Australia “can reengage with the world”.
But challenges remain, he said.