Ep 63: Travel Bubbles Are Back! Or Are They?

Exactly 11 months after they first emerged, Travel Bubbles are back in the news.

Across South East Asia and throughout Asia Pacific, talking up travel bubbles is in vogue once more after disappearing off radar since the Hong-Kong Singapore bubble burst last November. So what’s different and what’s still the same this time?

This week, Gary and Hannah sweep through Asia Pacific to see how vaccines and economic urgency are bringing Travel Bubbles back onto the political agenda. In some countries, the term Travel Bubble is being replaced with alternative iterations like Safe Travel Corridor and Safe Travel Zone, but they will still be small-scale reopening models with plentiful restrictions and protocols to which travellers must adhere.

Without a proper two-way bubble yet in place, South East Asia is closely watching developments in Australia and New Zealand as they look to reciprocate the (currently) one-way Trans-Tasman Bubble. We’ve got the latest announcements from Down Under which may influence how bubble negotiations develop across the region in future.