International Travel

"If you're double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

The reopening, on 21 February, will be welcome news for many sectors including international education.

Australia has had some of the world's strictest border controls throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

In March 2020, the government closed the borders. It barred most foreigners from entering the country and put caps on total arrivals to help combat Covid.

Most international airlines who fly into Australia are likely to accept only vaccinated passengers, with larger carriers now considering whether it is logistically and commercially viable to sell tickets to unvaccinated travellers. Some carriers have had their allocation of unvaccinated passengers capped at zero.

Booking.com's chief executive Glenn Fogel told the BBC that holiday "prices are already going up".

Many airlines have significantly reduced the number of flights they operate due to travel restrictions.

Despite huge demand, uncertainty makes it hard for airlines to plan bringing more planes back into service, he said.

"There's so much pent-up demand," said Mr Fogel. "Everybody wants to go travelling, but we all want to do it safely."