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Country-to-Country Bubbles: a New Way to Travel in Asia after COVID-19

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Asia Pacific countries with quick improvement in their
   coronavirus cases will consider forming "bubbles" that let people
   travel from one spot to another but keep restricting people from more
   heavily infected places,someanalysts predict.

   Cases of theoften-deadlyvirus-induced respiratory disease COVID-19have,
   so far,waned across much of the region. Australia, Hong Kong, Macau,
   New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, mainland China and Vietnam reported
   some of the world's lowest caseloads over the past month.

   To cut off disease transmission from overseas since March, Asian
   governments have banned the entry of foreign nationals except long-term
   permit holders. Locals and permit holders must spend 14 days in
   quarantine after each entry.

   Analysts say country-to-country bubbles would jumpstart aviation,
   tourism and conferencing, all of which have taken hits since the global
   pandemic started in Asia in late January. As many as 49 million
   tourism-related jobs are at risk in the region, the industry group Word
   Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

   "It's very much an issue about how to reopen travel and not only for
   tourism but also for business, because business travelers also cannot
   travel, and the whole region is facing this issue that nobody can move
   from one country to another, so it's definitely a key topic that
   countries are considering," said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief
   economist at IHS Markit.

   AustraliaPrime Minister Scott MorrisonandhisNew Zealandcounterpart,
   Jacinda Ardern,have met to discuss establishing a quarantine-free
   travel zone for their two countries, according to Australian media
   reports this month. Results could establish a bellwether for other
   countries with low virus caseloads, Biswas said.

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