Most countries in Southeast Asia reopened their borders, and the flights between cities are resuming gradually.

However, destinations in Greater China still require quarantine for all visitors regardless the vaccination status, and Japan is the only country that does not release a clear reopening plan of leisure visitors and quarantine-free travel in the region outside Greater China.

Malaysia

Malaysia reopened its international border to all travelers on 1 April, and travelers are welcome without mandatory quarantine. The government further announced that vaccinated travelers would not require a COVID-19 test result and related insurance coverage to enter the country starting from 1 May.

The relaxed measures are expected to attract foreign visitors from neighboring countries particularly, and life in Malaysia is returning to pre-pandemic with the optional outdoor mask order and reopening of nightclubs in mid-May.

Tourism Malaysia unveiled its strategic and marketing plan for 2022 to 2026, and it is targeted to attract 2 million tourist arrivals with a contribution of RM 8.6 billion this year. The country also recognized the importance of the domestic tourism where the authorities would continue the development for sustainable growth.

Before the reopening in April, Malaysia has been testing a Domestic Travel Bubble where Langkawi firstly opened its doors to domestic travelers in mid-September of 2021. The pilot was successful attracting over 720,000 domestic tourists contributing no less than revenues of RM 750 million (USD 172 million) in just three months.

New Zealand‍

As the step of the reopening plan, New Zealand is welcoming international travelers from visa-waiver countries/ territories or holders of a valid visitor visa starting 2 May. The country already opened its doors to Australian citizen or permanent visa holders before the Easter break, and it is expected that the country would reopen and resume normal visa processing in October.

The tourism industry in New Zealand is going to take a few years to recover, and the government is planning to transform its tourism from “high volume” to “high value” in the coming years. The new vision would come with the legislative and regulatory frameworks towards more sustainable tourism in the country, including greater respect for the environment and communities.

South Korea

South Korea has lifted its quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors starting 1 April, and social distancing measures are gradually removed in the country. The government also slowly loosened the flight bans which limit the number of flights arriving at Incheon Airport and announced the expansion of the numbers of international flights in May; the target is to resume overseas flights to at least 50% of the 2019 level by the end of 2022.

The relaxed quarantine measures also apply to the travelers returning to Korea, and it has effectively boosted the outbound travel in Korea. The surging flight demands of Korean travelers are observed at destinations in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean. For example, Hawaii was the first reviving destination since the flight ban in March 2020, and the first flight to Hawaii recorded a seat occupancy of 80%.

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