The first international tourists in two years have touched down in Sydney to be greeted by jubilant well-wishers waving Tim-Tams, jars of Vegemite and stuffed koalas.
Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan was on hand to welcome the first arrivals on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles which landed at 6.20am as Australia’s borders reopened to vaccinated travellers.
Qantas is bringing in people from eight overseas destinations, including Vancouver, Singapore, London, and Delhi, on Monday.
“What wonderful, wonderful news for our tourism industry and the 660,000 people employed in it,” a merry Mr Tehan told the Nine Network.
“There is excitement everywhere, people are loving it, absolutely loving it.
“The first passenger (to enter the arrivals hall) had a huge smile on their face even though they have been on a plane for what, 20-odd hours.”
The happy scenes are expected to be replicated at international airports in Melbourne and Brisbane on Monday.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said bookings had been strong since the federal government announced the country was opening on February 21 after borders were shut two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re in this position today thanks to the millions of Australians who rolled up their sleeves to get the jab and give the Australian government and state and territory governments’ confidence that we can safely reopen to the world,” he said in a statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday urged international holiday-makers to pack their bags and head Down Under.
“Come and have one of the greatest experiences you could ever imagine – the experience you’ve been waiting for,” he said.
He said there were 1.2 million people around the world who are “visa-ed up” to come to Australia.
“In the next 24 hours some 56 flights are going to touch down in Australia and that number is only going to grow,” Mr Morrison said.
However, travellers from Australia’s biggest tourism market, China, will be absent.
That’s because Chinese travellers are not allowed to venture to Australia at the moment, Mr Morrison said.
“That’s why we’re focusing our campaign on those markets that are open to travel to Australia,” he said.
“Australia is one of the most popular destinations of choice all around the world.”
It also comes at a time when NSW, Victoria and the ACT have started winding back further restrictions, like ditching most QR check-ins and lifting bans on dancing at hospitality venues
Victoria is opening its newly built $200 million quarantine hub on Monday for those international travellers who are not vaccinated.
Queensland also has its own purpose-built 500-bed quarantine centre near Toowoomba, which is likely to house unvaccinated international arrivals.
Meanwhile, Australia’s death toll from the COVID-19 Omicron variant continues to climb.
There were 21 deaths reported in NSW, alongside 5582 new COVID-19 infections announced on Sunday.
In Victoria, there were 4867 cases along with a further nine virus-related deaths, while Queensland reported 4265 cases and another two deaths and one fatality was recorded in the Northern Territory.
The ACT reported 560 new infections.
AAP
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
