Australia to reopen to tourists later this month

"If you're doubly vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia."

For those planning a visit down under, the wait is almost over, as Australia is set to welcome fully vaccinated tourists to its country on 21 February. The country prohibited international travellers from visiting over the course of the pandemic, but those days are coming to an end soon. As ABC News reports, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced at a press conference that the country will reopen to tourists if they have a visa and if they're doubly vaccinated. He said: "We have been progressively opening our borders since last year. Those programmes have proceeded very successfully. (....) That will now be extended to international visitors who will now be able to return." The PM emphasised the need for international visitors to be fully vaccinated. He said: "The condition is, you must be double vaccinated to come to Australia. That's the rule. Everyone's expected to abide by it and it's very important that people understand that requirement if they're seeking to come to Australia." Mr Morrison added: "It's almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia." He then announced 21 February as the date that Australia will open its borders to tourists and said: "If you're doubly vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia." He went on to say that he understands that the Australian tourist industry is also looking forward to the reopening of the country to tourists. Over the past few months, Australia has been slowly reopening its doors to a variety of categories of people, including international students and economic migrants. The reopening of the country to international visitors also constitutes the lifting of one of Australia's last remaining Covid-19 measures. Now, only a handful of countries remain closed to international tourists. They include China, Japan and New Zealand.