US plan to reopen lifts hopes Australia will do same

The US plan to allow fully vaxxed international travellers to visit without quarantining from November has raised hopes Australia will follow suit.

The US relaxation of international travel restrictions will help make flights from Australia a reality by Christmas. Picture: Getty Images

The US announcement that it will open up to fully vaccinated international visitors from November has raised hopes within the travel industry Australia will follow suit by the end of the year.

Under the US plan, fully vaccinated travellers from a range of countries including Europe, the UK and China can visit without the need to quarantine.

Australian travellers have not been subject to a ban by the US but remain unable to travel overseas until the Morrison government eases border restrictions.

Flight Centre Travel Group Australia managing director James Kavanagh said the US move was an important piece of the travel puzzle, with Los Angeles the most searched destination on their website.

“The beauty of the US announcement is it gives Australia an advantage. We’re not trailblazing, we can learn from countries that are a few months ahead of us and open up in a more relaxed manner,” he said.

Before Covid struck, the US was the third most popular destination for outbound Australians after New Zealand and Bali, and accounted for 20 per cent of all overseas business travel.

Mr Kavanagh said it would be a great step forward for Australia to reopen to the US, in terms of reconnecting businesses and families. “The message is loud and clear: if you’re vaccinated, you’re welcome,” he said.

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents was also buoyed by the US announcement. Chair Tom Manwaring said it came at just the right time, with inquiries to travel agents picking up on the back of the Qantas plan to resume international flights on December 18.

“At the moment, consumers are inquiring and seeking travel advice, which is not only refreshing, it is helping to rebuild confidence in the travel industry,” Mr Manwaring said. “It has been a horrific 20 months and we need good news.”

Although inquiries were not translating to significant numbers of bookings at this point, Mr Manwaring was hopeful they would come as certainty grew.

“That’s the key. People need to know they can book with the confidence they will be able to return to Australia without having to quarantine for any longer than it takes to return a negative Covid test,” he said.

“The same goes for visitors to Australia. Who would come for a holiday if they had to quarantine for two weeks, or even a week for that matter? Many Asian countries only allow two weeks of ­annual leave.”

He shared Mr Kavanagh’s view that change would start to occur quite quickly now that vaccination rates were climbing and more countries were prepared to once again welcome visitors.

Since announcing its travel restart plans, Qantas has seen searches of international flights triple, with strong interest in Sydney-LA and Melbourne-LA.

Dates in December were in the greatest demand.

Mr Kavanagh said airfares were not quite as cheap as they were in the months leading up to the pandemic, but they were not exorbitant.

“I think what you will see is fares will start to become more attractive to stimulate demand once there is certainty around borders and quarantine,” he said.

Originally published as US plan to reopen lifts hopes Australia will do same