SEPTEMBER 07, 2021

WASHINGTON — The federal government has added fully vaccinated foreign nationals to the ranks of travellers who are once again welcome on Canadian soil.

As of midnight Monday night, quarantine requirements were eased for non-essential international travellers who have had a full course of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine.

To be eligible, travellers must have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last vaccine shot and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.

They are also required to use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.

Denis Vinette, vice-president of the travellers branch of the Canada Border Services Agency, says the latest wave of vaccinated visitors is arriving primarily by air.

Vinette says that simplifies matters for the agency, since airlines will be screening travellers to ensure they meet the criteria.

"The great thing in air is that you've got the airline working with you, who will not allow individuals to get on if they're not meeting all of the requirements," Vinette said in an interview. "The land border is a different beast."

Canada has approved four COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, also known as Covishield, and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson option.

Vinette said the agency will continue to conduct random tests of travellers at the border, a surveillance program that has been in place since the phased-in process of easing travel restrictions began earlier this summer.

Between Aug. 9 and 26, the positivity rate for randomly selected, fully vaccinated travellers was just 0.19 per cent despite the increase in cases in both Canada and the U.S.

"While cases are currently increasing in Canada, the illness severity and hospitalization rates remain manageable as Canada's vaccination rates continue to rise," the agency said in a release last week.

"This data, along with continued adherence to public health measures by Canadians and incoming travellers, means that Canada is better able to prevent outbreaks of infection and can now allow more incoming fully vaccinated travellers without increasing the risk to the health and safety of Canadians."

Direct flights from India and Morocco will remain suspended until at least later this month. Travellers from either country who take an indirect route to Canada will be required to produce a recent negative molecular test taken in a third country.

The U.S., meanwhile, continues to prohibit non-essential Canadian travellers from entering the country by land. Air and sea travellers are exempt, though passengers by rail, ferry and pleasure boat are not.

The U.S. has also maintained stringent travel limits on a number of foreign countries, including China, India, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and the 26 European countries without border controls, known as the Schengen group.

The borders with Canada and Mexico, however, are widely seen as falling into a different category, in part because of the close trade ties between the three countries as well as the fact that visitors can arrive by land without the help of a private-sector company like an airline or cruise ship operator.

The continuing U.S. restrictions have provided the agency with a silver lining of sorts, however: since Canadians can't cross the border for short incidental trips or shopping excursions, that's meant fewer people trying to return to Canada than might otherwise be the case.

"In a normal year, throughout the summer, about 65 per cent of our border crossings are what we term day trippers," Vinette said.

"Currently, we only have unidirectional entry, and so you don't have day trippers from Canada going to the U.S. and then coming back, which is a significant portion of our usual traffic volumes."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2021.

James McCarten, The Canadian Press

SEPTEMBER 09, 2021

DALLAS (AP) — Several leading U.S. airlines warned Thursday that the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant is hurting their bookings and further delaying the travel industry's recovery.

The summer got off to a strong start, with many planes full of vacationers eager to break out after being stuck at home for more than a year. After months of improving travel numbers, however, August was disappointing.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said Thursday that people are still traveling, but key segments — business and international flyers — are still largely missing. He said the rise in COVID-19 cases won’t derail the travel recovery but will delay it by 90 to 120 days.

Delta said it still expects to post an adjusted pretax profit for the third quarter, but revenue will be toward the lower end of its previous forecast.

United Airlines said its revenue is weaker than previously expected, and it forecast a pretax loss in the third quarter that could extend into the fourth quarter if the virus outbreak continues. It is trimming flights to match the lower demand.

American Airlines said a slowdown that started in August has continued into September, and the airline further lowered its outlook for third-quarter revenue.

Southwest Airlines reported that leisure travel has weakened, with more cancellations and softer bookings for September and October. Southwest said, however, booking patterns for the winter holidays look normal.

Airlines are watching COVID-19 numbers closely and finding hope in the latest figures showing the surge that started in July might have peaked. The seven-day average of cases is roughly flat compared with two weeks ago.

Airline executives say they believe bookings will pick up as soon as case counts go down.

“Things moved downward rather quickly, but they can, I think, move upwards just as quickly,” Andrew Nocella, United’s chief marketing officer, said during an investor conference held by financial-services firm Cowen.

Airline stocks fell shortly after trading began Thursday but then turned higher. By early afternoon, American was up 6% and others rose between 3% and 5%.

Americans have been willing to travel over the summer and during shorter holiday periods. Air travel over the Labor Day weekend approached 2019 levels — on two days, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2 million travelers.

By Wednesday, however, the number of people going through airport checkpoints dropped back to 1.4 million, down 28% from the comparable Wednesday in 2019.

United's Nocella warned that travel is likely to slump in October, early November, and the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In a bid to reassure passengers worried about the virus, airlines have been pushing their employees to become vaccinated against COVID-19.

United is requiring the shots and says it will fire workers who don't get vaccinated in the coming weeks or merit an exemption on medical or religious grounds. A United executive said Wednesday that more than half of the previously unvaccinated employees have received a shot since the airline announced the requirement last month, although United refused to give precise numbers.

Delta employees on the company health plan face a $200 monthly surcharge starting in November if they aren't vaccinated. On Thursday, the airline's chief health officer, Dr. Henry Ting, said that nearly one-fifth of the 20,000 Delta employees who were unvaccinated when the surcharge was announced have decided to get the shots.

Ting called that “a huge number in terms of shifting that group that is most reluctant.”

___

AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this report.

David Koenig can be reached at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter

David Koenig, The Associated Press

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

The Chief Executive Officer of Shenbee Travels Limited, Wole Shenbanjo, in this interview, spoke about emerging issues in Nigeria’s economy, and events in the travel and tourism industry. He spoke to Chinedu Eze. Excerpts

How has the devaluation of the Naira affected international air travel? It has affected travel a great deal. Ticket fares have increased astronomically. You have economy tickets to London costing as high as N1 million. Not to include the cost of Covid-19 tests here and there especially the ones you have to pay for abroad. It has really affected holiday travels this period. I know quite a number of families who have had to postpone, cancel or reschedule their holidays due to cost constraints.

What do you think will be the long-term impact of COVID-19 on air travel? Before talking long-term impact, we have already started to experience the impact and more importantly the recovery. Initially, we had everything come to a standstill with nations shutting their borders and all of that. A lot of countries that know what they are doing and understand the importance of travels have started to experience what we call the Post Covid-19 recovery.

In the long term, I believe we will experience safer travels. Most countries would not go back on the health and safety measure put in place as a result of Covid-19. As more people get vaccinated, we will see a pick up in travels across the globe. In another two years, we hope to be back to our Pre-Covid-19 numbers.

Would you say that the shrinking of international holiday destinations has made travel agents innovative and in what way? Absolutely. It has caused us to be more innovative. We have had to research and explore more destinations to offer our clients. Personally, I have had cause to visit two new destinations this year to experience firsthand and be able to offer more options to our clients. So, we will continue to see more of that. We now have to look inwards into Africa and other safer destinations that are open to receiving tourists. It has made a lot of us go all out in exploring and pushing our domestic tourism, which I strongly believe will thrive as we look to better days ahead.

With selective lockdown of many places in Europe and Americas, do you foresee a boost in African tourism? Most definitely. Just this August, I went on holiday with my family to Ghana. You can imagine, as exposed and well traveled as we are, we had never visited Ghana, which is literally next door. It was a beautiful experience seeing lovely resorts and all that. We have had a lot of people reach out to us to help package similar tours. I am sure a lot of the top agencies and tour operators would be getting similar requests and experiences. People are now more interested in seeing Africa. Agencies and tour operators are beginning to showcase more of Africa; it will really be a great boost for African tourism if we are able to sustain it.

Do you think the federal government took a wise decision by introducing stringent protocols against South Africa? From a personal standpoint, I did not understand nor subscribe to the ban of travellers from South Africa into Nigeria. The reason we heard was that the Covid-19 variant there is stronger, but I believe it is not a problem at all. There are health measures that we needed to put in place, closely enforce and monitor. But if we continue to sell fear, we will continue to experience huge economic loss and we will be losing out in the grand scheme of things.

Knowing that South Africa and Nigeria are key economic pivots in the continent, how is not having direct flights affect the business partnership of the two countries? The two countries have a bilateral agreement, which should eliminate trade barriers and by extension what this implies for the aviation sector is that our own Air Peace cannot fly there and bring back passengers. That is a loss to the airline. We ought to use this opportunity to support and grow our indigenous airlines. Things are looking up now though and soon everything will be back to normal.

Do you think we have come to a tipping point on the fall of the Naira and how has that affected the prices of air tickets? Frankly speaking, it is a tough call to say if we have gotten to the tipping point or not. Neither the agencies nor the airlines have the power to control or influence the currency exchange rate. Several factors control that. Yes, prices of air tickets adjust strongly to exchange rate and the impact here is a lot more are unable to afford tickets on direct flights to their destinations or airlines of their choice. Again, adaptability is one of our strong points as a people. We will continue to adjust.

What can travel agencies do to boost international travel, as nations seem to be closing doors on inbound flights? I actually don’t think nations are closing doors on inbound flights anymore. At most, they are introducing more testing and quarantine rules to suit them as advised by their health authorities. What travel agencies can do to support or boost travel is to stay abreast with the ever-changing Covid-19 rules across countries and destinations of interest and advise their clients accordingly.

Do you think the intransigent position taken by UAE against Nigeria in terms of Covid-19 protocol has political undertone? That will be for the governments of both countries to comment on. I believe that the governments need to come to roundtable and iron out the diplomatic challenges between both countries. Again, it brings us back to the issue of bilateral agreements and something not being right about it, there is need for them to come to an amicable resolution as quick as possible. The challenge between the two governments goes beyond you and I. But whatever the reason is, it is not doing any good to either of the countries and I believe we will get positive news on it soon. We hear engagements are ongoing.

How has not flying to Dubai affected the revenue of Travel Agencies? Without a doubt, it has. Dubai has been our highest selling destination for a very long time. It is like second home to a lot of us here. Guess what? Nigerians are still going to Dubai, and they are going there via Cotonou and Accra. Who is losing out? We are the ones losing out. And it goes beyond travel agencies.

You know how we are losing out? This is because revenue that would have come to our NCAA (the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority) is being lost. Other countries are benefiting from our losses. We are helping other economies to grow. Because Kenya Airways is lifting Nigerians to Dubai, Qatar is doing the same. Egypt is doing the same. Only Emirates and Nigeria are not benefiting from it because we currently do not have direct flights. So why can’t we just put our ego aside and go into discussions and get it resolved. Dubai needs us as much as we need them. Both governments just need to sit and get this thing resolved because as the popular saying goes, “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers”.

It is the travellers that are feeling the pinch; it is the business people that are feeling the pinch. Because instead of booking a direct flight, they now have to connect through other countries, having to spend at least 14 days in those places before proceeding to Dubai. We keep getting resumption dates but it is still from one party.

What do you advice government to do to encourage inbound tourism in Nigeria? In any clime, for businesses to thrive, the government needs to create an enabling environment. We ought to consider the movement of visitors to other neighboring countries as being serious cause for concern, but we have not been able to latch onto such opportunities. Nigeria is blessed with the history of many ethnic groups, beautiful beaches and wonderful natural landscapes. The government can adopt a few measures to encourage inbound tourism.

We need a National tourism policy, which would serve as a guide and must be conscientiously implemented. The private sector can be encouraged to develop and operate tourist sites on a PPP arrangement with the government. As part of CSR, blue chip organisations can be encouraged to adopt tourist destinations within their operating locality in partnership with the government. All of the above can only be possible if the government is ready to work on the infrastructure side of things and most of all security. We should also take presentation and packaging of festivals very seriously. Take for example the annual Calabar festival, this attracts so many visitors from all over, we need more of that. Tourism will really boost the economy by way of job creation while adding to growth of our GDP. By promoting investment in tourism and rebranding the industry, the potential for growth on the economy is limitless.

To what extent has insecurity imperiled domestic tourism? To a very large extent. I mean investing in tourism in areas such as hospitality, attractions, events, commercial outdoor recreation, festivals, arts and crafts etc. requires a very high level of security and safety. We read reports of terrorism, banditry, insurgency and kidnappings almost on a daily basis. And you know bad news travels fast. Nobody will love to invest or go out exploring unsafe territory.

Do you think destinations like conservation Centres, water falls; game reserves and others in Nigeria could attract throngs of international tourists in future? Oh absolutely. These sites in Nigeria are places you will always find holiday seekers traveling to, during weekends and public holidays. Identifying these spots and giving them the necessary attention will well position the states who are the custodians of such locations to be at the heart of tourism development in the country.

In other countries, they have some cities they refer to as call holiday cities. We can mirror such here; they will attract more developments in terms of infrastructure like road network, ease of transportation and all of that. By improving infrastructure, the governments both state and federal partnering with local tourism organisations to promote the tourist attractions of the country, I believe in a few years we can boast of tourism adding significantly to our GDP, away from our sole reliance on oil. Revenue from taxes too will rise easily.

Shenbee Travels Limited is known for driving travel innovation and exciting customer experience. What plans do you have for your existing and prospective clients as travel and tourism emerge from the lull of the year 2020? As you know, we are all adjusting to what we have now known to be our new normal. We would ensure that we are able to provide safe, healthy, and prompt service to our clients so that they are able to fly seamlessly or with the airline that respects COVID-19 protocols.

Information is being updated by different countries and airlines almost on a daily basis, we continue to stay close to our clients and keep them updated with the ever- changing Covid-19 protocols. We will encourage our clients to safely learn to travel again while offering them best value deals. I remain optimistic that we would all weather this challenging period and come out of it even better than the pre-Covid-19 days.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department is detailing efforts it says it is making to help airline customers who were wrongfully denied refunds after flights were canceled or changed during the pandemic.

The department says in a new report that it investigated 20 airlines over failures to issue prompt refunds to customers, and 18 of those probes are still going.

The department disclosed that an examination into United Airlines was dropped in January after the airline took steps resulting in “thousands” of customers getting refunds.

In June, the department announced that it was seeking a $25.5 million fine against Air Canada, saying the airline improperly delayed refunds for more than 5,000 passengers by up to 13 months. The airline is fighting the penalty.

The Transportation Department did not identify the other 18 airlines still under investigation in Thursday's report to the White House, but a footnote identified 10 U.S. carriers and 15 foreign ones — a who's who of the industry — that it contacted about the matter last year.

“Air Canada is far from being the only carrier that violated DOT refund rules," Bill McGee, an aviation expert at Consumer Reports, said Friday.

McGee said both Consumer Reports and the Transportation Department received “tremendously high numbers of complaints” against United and Frontier Airlines.

The department says it received about 30,000 complaints over airline refunds. The agency says at least nine airlines changed their policies to clarify that passengers are entitled to refunds, not just travel vouchers, when the airline cancels their flight or significantly changes the flight's schedule.

Consumer groups and lawmakers have been raising the issue of refunds that were slow or never came since March 2020, when U.S. air travel nosedived and airlines canceled thousands of flights on short notice. Elaine Chao, who was Transportation secretary under President Donald Trump, issued a reminder to airlines of their obligation to offer refunds when they — and not the customer — cancel a trip, but refrained from stronger action against airlines.

On Friday, consumer groups praised current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for expanding the agency's staff for handling complaints and proposing to expand refunds to times when government lockdowns cause flight cancellations. But they said more needs to be done to help consumers who are still waiting for refunds from 2020 and those who received travel vouchers that will expire.

The Associated Press

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Following a recent recommendation by the EU Council to tighten entry restrictions on travelers from the U.S., Spain has decided to ban non-vaccinated U.S. travelers from entering the country, except for absolutely essential purposes.

The decision by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare, removes the United States from the list of epidemiologically safe third countries whose travelers do not have to meet the standard Covid travel restrictions for non EU/EEA arrivals.

Americans had been able to enter Spain without restrictions since last June when, in a bid to help its hard hit tourism industry, the country added the U.S. to its low-risk travel list.

From this week, until new updates, according to Spain and Andorra’s embassy, travelers from the U.S.—and a handful of other third countries with worsening Covid figures—must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before travel.

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“Effective September 6, 2021, U.S. citizens can travel from the United States to Spain on non-essential travel, (such as tourism) if they show proof of vaccination. Please read the detailed information on the Spain Ministry of Health’s website,” advises the Embassy.

Additionally, U.S. citizens travelling from the United States to Spain must present upon arrival in Spain a QR code generated through the Spain Travel Health portal, obtained through the website or by downloading the “SpTH app” in Google Play Store or iTunes App Store for each traveler, regardless of their age.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

BY Sami Tunji

Foreigners exempted from enrolling for the National Identity Number will have to request for Subscriber Identity Module activation every six months up to a period of two years.

The Nigerian Communications Commission disclosed this in its new draft for ‘Business Rules and Operational Processes for Implementation of the National Policy for SIM activation, Replacement and Other Key Telecommunications Operational Processes.

The report said, “SIM activations for foreigners exempted from enrolling for NIN shall be configured for a period of six months in the first instance and can be renewed further upon request and where the visa is not for a stay of two years and above.”

It added, “Foreigners validly transiting through Nigeria or are employed in or reside in Nigeria for less than 24 months are exempted from the mandatory use of NIN requirement. Persons in this category need to provide justification that they will be residing in Nigeria for less than two years.”

It said if such foreigner failed to request for SIM activation at the end of the six-month period, the SIM would be deactivated.

For foreigners staying in the country for more than two years, it is required for them to register for NIN as well as fully register their SIMs.

“NIN is mandatory for foreigners with legal residency status or those living in Nigeria for two years and above. For those who do not already have a NIN, mobile network operators shall capture the resident’s details for NIN issuance as part of the NIN enrolment process, upon presentation of resident’s permits,” it stated.

The Punch had earlier reported that foreigners not staying in Nigeria for up to two years do not need a NIN to register SIM cards, according to the Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

BY  Sodiq Oyeleke

The Federal Government has relaxed the restriction on foreign travellers without evidence of payment for their COVID-19 PCR test.

In a memo by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, foreign airlines were asked to board passengers without evidence of payment for day seven COVID-19 PCR test or generate paid QR code/permit to fly.

The memo dated September 11, 2021, and issued by Director-General of NCAA, Musa Nuhu, was titled “Permission for airlines to board passengers travelling to Nigeria who are unable to show evidence of payment for day seven COVID-19 PCR test or generate paid QR code/permit to fly”.

Nuhu said the decision was taken in view of the challenges some travellers to Nigeria are experiencing while trying to fill their Health and Travel history into Nigeria’s International Travel portal.

Earlier, foreign travellers were required to show proof of payment for their COVID-19 PCR test before they are boarded.

He, however, said such passengers would be required to make payment for the repeat day-7 COVID-19 PCR test at their destination airport in Nigeria.

The memo read, “The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has been made aware of challenges some travelers are experiencing while trying to fill their Health and travel history into the Nigeria International Travel Portal.

Airlines are thereby permitted to board any traveller to Nigeria who is unable to either pay for the repeat Day Seven COVID-19 PCR test or generate the paid QR code/ permit to fly.

“Such passengers will be required to make payment for the repeat Day Seven COVID-19 PCR test at their destination airport in Nigeria.

“Holders of Diplomatic passports and Children aged 10 years and below who are unable to complete NITP are to be allowed to board the flight.

“Their health declaration and travel history will be captured by the Port Health Services (PHS) at the destination airport.

“Airlines are to bring this information to the knowledge of the passenger and ensure strict compliance with above-stated conditions.”

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

LONDON (AP) — Authorities in Britain have decided not to require vaccine passports for entry into nightclubs and other crowded events in England, Britain's health secretary said Sunday, reversing course amid opposition from some of the Conservative government’s supporters in Parliament.

Health Minister Sajid Javid said the government has shelved the idea of vaccine passports for now but could reconsider the decision if COVID-19 cases rise exponentially once again.

“We’ve looked at it properly and whilst we should keep it in reserve as a potential option, I’m pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports,’’ Javid told the BBC.

The U-turn came just days after both the government’s vaccines minister and the culture secretary suggested that vaccine passports would still be necessary, despite growing opposition from lawmakers.

In particular, members of the governing Conservative Party have objected to such passports as an unacceptable burden on businesses and an infringement on residents' human rights.

The idea of requiring people to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test for COVID-19 has been uncomfortable for many in Britain, where people generally aren’t required to carry identification documents.

Other European nations are using similar documents showing peoples' vaccination status as a way to re-open society — although the rules vary widely. Each of Germany’s 16 states has slightly different rules on what is required, but in general, people are required to show a negative test, vaccine or recovery certificate before being allowed to participate in indoor dining, drinking or dancing.

Passes are required in France when frequenting bars, cafes, restaurants, museums and other places where the public gathers and for long-distance travel on buses, trains and planes. In Italy, where discos have not re-opened since the start of the pandemic, so-called Green Passes are required to dine indoors, attend a concert or for domestic travel by trains, buses, planes or ferries, although local transport is exempt.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Foreign airlines operating in the nation’s airports have been permitted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to board passengers travelling to Nigeria who are unable to show evidence of payment for day-7 Covid-19 PCR test or generate paid QR code or permit to fly.

This was contained in a letter to all foreign airlines signed by the director general, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, dated September 11, 2021 and made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday.

The letter stated that the granting of the permit was hinged on the difficulties being experienced by travellers to Nigeria in trying to fill their health and travel history on the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).

According to the letter, the presidential steering committee on COVID-19 has been made aware of the challenges.

The letter with reference number, NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/317 and titled, “Permission for airlines to board passengers travelling to Nigeria who are unable to show evidence of payment for day-7 Covid-19 PCR test or generate paid QR code/permit to fly”, noted that travellers to Nigeria are experiencing difficulties while trying to fill the Health and travel history into the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).

According to the document personally signed by the NCAA DG, holders of diplomatic passports and children aged 10 years, unable to complete the NITP are to be allowed to board the flight.

He, however, said the health declaration and travel history will be captured by the Port Health Services (PHS) at the destination airport.

“The presidential steering committee on Covid-19 has been made aware of challenges some travellers to Nigeria are experiencing while trying to fill their health and travel history into the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).

“Airlines are hereby permitted to board any traveller to Nigeria who is unable to either pay for the repeat day 7 Covid-19 PCR test or generate the paid QR code / Permit to fly. Such passengers will be required to make payment for the repeat day 7 COVID 19 PCR test at their destination airport in Nigeria.”

“Holders of diplomatic passports and children aged 10 years and below who are unable to complete the NITP are to be allowed to board the flight. Their health declaration and travel history will be captured by the port health services (PHS) at the destination airport.

“Airlines are to bring this information to the knowledge of their passengers and ensure strict compliance with the above stated conditions,” it reads.

“Airlines are to bring this information to the knowledge of their passengers and ensure strict compliance with the above stated conditions.”

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

(Bloomberg) -- International air travel beyond Asia is expected to recover sooner than between countries within the region given the different Covid-19 vaccination rates and continued strict border measures imposed by governments, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. 

Many Asian countries have tightened measures in recent months to contain the spread of the delta variant, Subhas Menon, director general of the 14-member AAPA, said during a briefing Monday. There will be some recovery for places where vaccination is higher, he said. 

“Inter-regional travel can take place because many places in the West are already opening travel from the Asia-Pacific region for the vaccinated,” Menon said. “Resources are constrained and the supply of vaccines is also constrained. So intra-regional travel will be held back for a while longer, hopefully not too long beyond the end of 2021.”  

Some countries in Asia are shifting away from Covid-Zero strategies and adopting a policy of living with the virus, backed by widespread vaccination, as they try to revive economies that have suffered from lengthy lockdowns. Singapore is taking steps to reopen and last week started allowing short-term, vaccinated visitors from Germany and Brunei.

“It is hard to say when the recovery will take place,” Menon said. “Pent-up demand is there. We just need the right settings.”