Will International Travel Ever be the Same Again?

There was a time when getting a visa was perhaps the only major obstacle to travel depending on the country you wished to travel to and how powerful your passport is. Then came 2020 and the ease of travel was totally disrupted as countries moved to enforce travel bans and lock their borders in an effort to control the spread of the corona virus pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has completely disrupted travel and although in 2021 some countries have eased their travel restrictions and opened up to travelers, a good number still remain closed.

Australia is one of the countries that kept it’s borders closed since 2020.  Currently, Travel to Australia is only available if you are exempt or you have been granted an individual exemption.

Cost of Travel

Travel costs have also increased tremendously owing to COVID tests, which travelers have to do at their point of origin (Not more than 72 hours prior to departure) and upon arrival in some countries, with some states now making it mandatory for travelers to be vaccinated before they can be granted entry.

A PCR test is presently the only globally approved COVID-19 test. A PCR test detects genetic material from a specific organism, such as a virus. The test detects the presence of a virus if you have the virus at the time of the test.

Quarantine

Some countries also require travelers to quarantine at designated facilities upon arrival for at least 10 days at their own costs, which has also contributed in increasing the cost of travel during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Vaccine Passport

The Covid-19 vaccines seem to be increasingly becoming essential for travel as Countries that have had tough travel restrictions like the US move to ease their travel bans for vaccinated travelers while others  have out forthrightly made it mandatory for foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated before they can be granted entry.

The United States recently announced that it will reopen in November to air travelers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil,” White House said.

The U.S. restrictions have barred travelers from most of the world in the United States.

Vaccine Certificate 

Canada is one of the countries that have introduced a vaccine certificate system, which took effect on September 21, 2021, making it mandatory for individuals to present proof of vaccination for access a host of non-essential businesses and settings such as dining indoors at restaurants and bars and working out at gyms. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/important-things-to-know-as-ontario-s-vaccine-certificate-program-begins-1.5591806

Those eligible for a vaccine certificate must have both doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

Even though countries are easing their travel restrictions in 2021 compared to 2020 international travel is nolonger as seamless as it used to be and we can only hope that that 2022 will bring a new dawn.