한국으로 돌아온 해외단체여행 깃발… ‘트레블 버블’ 로 격리 없이 바로 여행
Ever since the pandemic began traveling to other countries has been difficult.
Now, with the so-called travel bubble agreement, some new possibilities are opened up.
Choi Won-jong helps us gauge the possible impact of the changes.
Volcanic mountains and a beautiful coastline with stretches of white sand attract visitors to South Korea’s southern island of Jeju.
But this place… known for its natural beauty… has been almost off limits… for foreign travelers in the COVID-19 era.
“For nearly a year and nine months… Jeju was closed to group tours from other countries due to the pandemic… but today the door has finally been reopened.”
Why has Jeju reopened its border this time?
Because of its Travel Bubble, which is an agreement between two or more countries to open up their borders for travel… without mandatory quarantine.
The process of traveling under the agreement varies from country to country.
However, those who’d like to travel to South Korea need to go through three Covid tests.
They must take a PCR test within 72 hours of departure… one upon arrival… and the final test on the 6th or 7th day if they will stay for 8 days or more.
They also need some documents such as… an official COVID-19 vaccination certificate… and a copy of their travel medical insurance.
Under the South Korea-Singapore travel bubble agreement that kicked off on November 15th… 20 people from Singapore arrived on Jeju island.
These two members of the group tour… said they are fans of Korean dramas.
“There were a lot of Korean dramas that keep us entertained during the pandemic. We were watching a lot of it on Netflix and different channels. Obviously, Squid Game is all the rage, recently right? Oh my god… we wanna come here for Gong yoo.”
“What made you guys decide that ‘hey I wanna go to Korea’?”
“When we look at the situation we thought Korea situation was pretty close to Singapore where we are still practicing safe distancing with a mask on. Everyone was just quite prudent, right? You know maybe Korea was a safer choice? We decided to give Korea, try.”
Once they arrived at one of the tour spots… the excitement began.
They took photos… ate dessert… drank coffee… and most importantly… enjoyed some good quality time together.
However… the world is facing another Covid curveball.
The Omicron variant is putting international travel ONCE AGAIN in jeopardy.
BUT that didn’t stop some visitors due to the travel bubble agreement.
” I watched the news about it yesterday. Of course, I was worried but I still want to go while being careful.”
So far, South Korea has already imposed travel restrictions on countries with a high risk of the Omicron variant.
And starting December 3rd for two weeks… all overseas visitors MUST go through a 10-day quarantine, even if they are fully vaccinated.
For the worst case scenario… this so-called ‘circuit breaker’ could put the travel bubble agreement in jeopardy AGAIN.
Some tourism businesses think the travel bubble should continue.
“If we close our borders, it will bring more negative impacts… not only psychologically but also economically. I think we should feel more confident and open up international travel if countries under the travel bubble agreement follow prevention measures well. That’s the fastest way to save the tourism industry.
“The global pandemic is far from over…but the travel bubble could be the turning point for international travel in the COVID-19 era, and maybe this could give people a little bit more breathing room to travel internationally… in less stressful conditions. Choi Won-jong, Arirang News. ”
#SouthKorea #Singapore #travel_bubble
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2021-12-03, 22:00 (KST)
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