After almost two years of closed borders, the cautious region is slowly starting to open up
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ENTRY TO ASIA
A sia-Pacific watched mournfully as another year came and went with virtually no need for a passport.
While friends in the West updated their social feeds with business trips and weekend breaks, we googled “staycation deals” yet again, with all but essential travel put on hold thanks to onerous restrictions and quarantine requirements. But change is afoot. The “living with Covid” approach has started to permeate, with numerous government leaders announcing more relaxed measures on international travel as vaccination rates improve. Here, we take a look at the options.
GREEN
A trio of South Asian countries have the most lenient policies across Asia-Pacific, with unusual accommodation for unvaccinated travellers. The Maldives was one of the first to open its borders – since July 2020, vaccinated international travellers who present a valid negative PCR test have enjoyed quarantine-free access to the idyllic atolls scattered across the Indian Ocean. Unvaccinated tourists are also welcome without quarantine – with some caveats, including staying in a registered guest house on a local island, rather than a resort. As of October 2021, there were 155 resorts and more than 500 guest houses officially approved to welcome travellers.
visitmaldives.com/en/covid19-updates
Fully vaccinated travellers can also waltz into Sri Lanka, with no PCR test on arrival or quarantine period required. Partially or unvaccinated
travellers can enter the country through a Tourism Bio-Bubble; essentially a very loose form of quarantine, which offers free run of the registered hotel’s facilities and access to 18 approved attractions, including the popular Sigiriya Fortress and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. A nationwide lockdown was imposed in August after a surge in cases, but this was lifted in October, as the country achieved an almost 60 per cent vaccination rate.
srilanka.travel/helloagain
There’s no reason to put off your dreams to conquer Everest any longer. Vaccinated travellers who provide a negative PCR test are welcome to visit Nepal, with an on-arrival visa service and no need for quarantine. Unvaccinated travellers are welcome – but will need to purchase a visa before departure and complete a ten-day quarantine on arrival.
welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19.html
In October, India announced it would begin issuing foreign travel visas after a 19-month ban. Conditions were still to be finalised at time of writing, but quarantine exemptions
