Day by day the calls to reopen international travel without cumbersome restrictions are growing louder in Asia.
Unlike
Europe's more liberal reopening policies, where many countries have
dropped almost all pandemic restrictions, including lifting Covid
testing requirements for some, most governments in Asia continue to
impose strict entry rules on international arrivals into their borders.
However,
the recent weeks have saw a quick succession of announcements from
leading travel industry leaders beseeching Asia's governments to reopen
the country with simpler or no rules.
"Politicians have to be brave," AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes told
the BBC, speaking from the recent Singapore Airshow, one of the most
prominent events to return to the city's live events calendar this year
and reflects the country's hastening steps to reopen travel.
"To
me, opening our borders means no quarantine, no form-filling, no
constant testing," Fernandes was quoted as saying. "Now we have to
protect people's livelihoods and economies."
Similarly, Minor Hotels' founder and chairman Bill Heinecke, in an
open letter to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, has urged the
government to simplify entry requirements for tourists.
Although the quarantine-free Test & Go programme, which resumed
on 1 February, the additional requirements of having to undergo a PCR
test for Covid upon entry and once again on the fifth day of stay at a
qualified hotel have repeatedly been singled out by industry members as a
major dampener on inbound demand and the recovery of tourism.
"I
wish to reiterate again that the existing Thailand Pass pre-approval
system has outlived its usefulness and is serving a hindrance to travel
rather than a public health safeguard. Pre-departure proof of
vaccination and RT-PCR testing, as required by most nations and
airlines, are already sufficient and more than enough in today's world,"
wrote Heinecke.
The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of
Thailand have indicated that changes could soon be expected, as the
tourism authorities have proposed to replace the fifth-day PCR test with
a rapid antigen test.
Meanwhile, pressure is also mounting on the Japanese authorities to
review the country's Covid border policies. Although the country
recently relaxed its entry rules to include business travellers and
foreign students, the business community to "quickly adopt a
science-based entry policy.