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10 February, 2021

Tourism Minister outlines international travel expectations, says Aussies “should be confident” to book cruises

By Travel Weekly

Australia’s Minister for Tourism has provided some clarity around the federal government’s international travel forecast during his latest round of media appearances.

In an interview with Samantha Armytage on Channel Seven’s Sunrise breakfast show earlier this week, Dan Tehan was quizzed on when Australia will be able to welcome back overseas visitors.

“Well, our hope is that by this time next year we’ll have international tourists back,” he said.

“Obviously, we’re keeping open the option of being able to put bubbles in place. We’ve got a one-way bubble with New Zealand, we’re looking at options with Singapore, potentially with Japan, if they can get the virus under control again.

“So, that remains a live option – bubbles – but I think everyone’s forecast is that everything going well, we would hope to be welcoming international tourists back this time next year.”

Tehan noted that the government’s planned digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate would play a major role in restarting international tourism.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make this passport a game-changer, so we can get international tourists back,” he said.

"Everything going well, we would hope to be welcoming international tourists back this time next year"

Tourism Minister @DanTehanWannon reveals when Australia’s borders may reopen and quarantine-free international travel will be allowed to resume. pic.twitter.com/8qdbWaiSMG

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) February 7, 2021

The Tourism Minister also went into bat for the cruise sector during a recent interview on Nine’s Today show, after co-host Karl Stefanovic questioned whether Aussies should feel safe about taking advantage of the current “cut-price” offers available, in light of the Ruby Princess saga.

“The cruise industry has done a lot of work to make sure that cruising now is COVID-safe,” Tehan said.

“They’ve put protocols in place, so people should be confident to be able to go and book cruises.”

However, the Tourism Minister did concede that he has never been on a cruise.

“I think it’s something that I’ll explore doing once I finish this job,” Tehan said.

“But, at the moment I’m sort of … it’s a bit hard to book a cruise with any certainty for me, because you’re never quite sure what you’ll be doing one day to the next.”

Featured image source: Seven Network

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cruise bookings cruise industry cruises cruising Dan Tehan digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate International tourism international travel Karl Stefanovic minister for tourism Samantha Armytage sunrise TODAY show tourism minister