Singapore is ready to open a travel bubble with Australia

Singapore is ready to welcome travel-starved Australians as soon as the federal government allows them to fly there.

The city-state of six million – which has very low levels of Covid-19 – is already open to Australians and travellers from other low-risk countries including New Zealand and Taiwan as long as they test negative to the virus on arrival.

The Morrison government is in talks with Singaporean ministers about a two-way travel bubble, but they are in the early stages and no timeframe has been announced. 

Singapore is ready to welcome travel-starved Australians as soon as the federal government allows them to fly there

Keith Tan, the boss of the Singapore Tourism Board, has revealed his nation stands ready to welcome Australians as soon as possible.

‘We had our own unilateral opening in the hope that it would spur some reciprocation, which obviously hasn’t happened,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘Nevertheless it was a signal to the world that Singapore was already prepared to open our borders in a safe way and a considered way. 

‘We were not throwing up high walls.’

Mr Tan said Singapore has been pursuing a risk management strategy which seeks to limit Covid cases to very low levels rather than eliminate the virus like Australia and New Zealand. 

Australians are generally banned from leaving the country – except to New Zealand – until at least June 17.  

The city-state of six million – which has very low levels of Covid-19 – is already open to Australians

Singapore has escaped the worst of Covid-19 with just 30 deaths and has only been recording between 10 and 40 cases per day over the past few weeks.

Earlier this month Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the government has been in early discussions with Singaporean counterparts about setting up a travel bubble similar to the one with New Zealand. 

‘We’re in discussions with Singapore. We’re having those chats, those initial chats with other countries as well, and as vaccines are rolled out here and elsewhere, these travel bubbles will be created, and it will get us back to some sort of pre-Covid normality,’ he told Nine’s Today show. 

Trade Minister Dan Tehan previously said the government will take a ‘systematic’ approach to opening the borders which will see travels bubbles set up with individual nations.

‘Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam have all been mentioned as potentials in that area,’ he said, without giving any dates for when bubbles may start.

Singapore has escaped the worst of Covid-19 with just 30 deaths and has only been recording between 10 and 40 cases per day over the past few weeks