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Asia COVID Resurgence Shatters Travel Bubble Hopes

William Gallo

   The coronavirus is reemerging in Asian countries previously praised as
   models of containment, underscoring the resilience of the virus and
   dealing a blow to the idea of so-called travel bubbles between
   countries seen as safe zones.

   Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, and Japan have all seen the virus spread
   faster than ever this month, raising the prospect of a return to
   extended lockdowns. Mainland China, where the virus originated, has
   also seen a spike in cases.

   Some of those countries had been part of discussions about travel
   bubbles, which wereproposedearly in the pandemicas a way toreinvigorate
   economies by reopening quarantine-free tourist and international
   business travel. But with the new wave of infections, even many
   proponents of travel bubbles are acknowledging the idea is unrealistic
   for now.

   "It's just a real mess," says Ken Atkinson, vice chairman of the
   Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, which has lobbied the Vietnamese
   government to consider the travel bubbles. "I think we're looking at
   some time into next year before we can really see non-quarantine travel
   from anywhere."

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