From July, 'Travel Bubble'... Group Travel Allowed for Fully Vaccinated to Singapore and Others (Comprehensive)

Using Direct Flights by National Airlines... "Not Intended for Preschool Children"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Starting next month, individuals who have completed COVID-19 vaccination will be allowed to participate in group overseas travel to countries recognized as quarantine-trusted nations.

At the regular briefing on the 9th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plan to promote a travel safety zone (Travel Bubble) for group travel with quarantine-trusted countries as a limited exchange recovery measure during the transitional period before herd immunity is formed, in connection with increasing domestic vaccination rates."

The Travel Bubble exempts quarantine between countries that have secured mutual trust in quarantine management, thereby resuming international travel for general tourism purposes. However, travelers must submit a negative PCR test certificate and proof of vaccination, and quarantine exemption is granted only if a negative COVID-19 test result is confirmed upon arrival.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters’ quarantine team, evaluated, "This measure is the first step toward recovering international tourism and the aviation market by alleviating public inconvenience caused by prolonged overseas travel restrictions and difficulties faced by the tourism and aviation industries."

The Travel Bubble will be implemented after agreeing on a travel safety zone through consultations with quarantine-trusted countries, followed by final discussions with quarantine authorities on detailed operational plans considering the quarantine situation.

Initially, only group travel for those who have completed COVID-19 vaccination will be allowed, and the number of flights and the scale of entries will be limited to a certain level through agreements with the counterpart countries.

Additionally, travelers must use direct flights operated by airlines from both South Korea and the counterpart country.

Tour operators managing group tours will be required to appoint quarantine managers responsible for educating tourists on quarantine guidelines, monitoring compliance, regularly checking temperatures, and reporting any symptoms.

Since the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have explored the possibility of establishing Travel Bubbles with quarantine-trusted countries and regions such as Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Guam, and Saipan to alleviate public inconvenience caused by international travel restrictions and to recover the international tourism and aviation markets.

Yoon said, "We plan to appropriately adjust the scale of entries, number of flights, and quarantine conditions through consultations with counterpart countries," adding, "The travel safety zone system is scheduled to be implemented around July after practical consultations and preparations. Specific implementation dates and detailed quarantine guidelines will be announced later following additional discussions with quarantine authorities."

Regarding why only group travel is allowed and not individual travel, he explained, "It is quite difficult to manage individual or family gatherings. Quarantine exemption will first be granted to group travel, which is easier to manage and has responsible quarantine managers, making control and management much more effective than small-scale individual travel."

Furthermore, preschool children are excluded from the Travel Bubble and cannot participate in group overseas travel. Yoon stated, "A key prerequisite for the Travel Bubble is proof of vaccination. Since preschool children are currently not eligible for vaccination and cannot provide vaccination certificates, they are not subject to this program."

With many domestic vaccine recipients having received the AstraZeneca vaccine, there were questions about whether travel to some countries like Guam would be allowed only for those vaccinated with FDA-approved vaccines. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, added, "In addition to vaccines approved by the U.S. FDA, there are guidelines recommending consideration of AstraZeneca vaccines for entry into the U.S., and related practical work is underway."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.