S'pore-Australia travel bubble spurs travellers, businesses

Travellers have been making inquiries and some companies have already booked tickets following the announcement of an upcoming Australia-Singapore travel arrangement yesterday.

Experts said the move is a positive one, noting Australia is a travel market almost as big to Singapore as the 11 current vaccinated travel lane (VTL) countries combined.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison signalled yesterday that the arrangement for fully vaccinated travellers could be in place by Nov 23 and will initially apply to international students and business travellers, while tourists could be allowed to enter from December.

The move has raised the hopes of businesses here. In 2019, the last year before Covid-19 struck, Australia was Singapore's fourth-largest inbound tourism market by expenditure and accounted for 2.3 per cent of Singapore's total trade - coming up to $23.9 billion.

Mr Brendan Sobie of consultancy Sobie Aviation said Australia-Singapore traffic made up about 9 per cent of total passenger traffic for Changi Airport in 2019, just 1 per cent less than that accounted for by the 11 current VTL countries including South Korea, Britain and the United States.

But the actual passenger load covered by the pact would be smaller, he said. At least initially, the VTL should likely include only Sydney in New South Wales and Melbourne in Victoria.

Mr Sobie said: "Not all of Australia is opening up. Western Australia in particular is not likely to open up for at least several more months. Perth is an important destination for Changi, accounting for 2 per cent of Changi's total alone."

Half of the Sydney and Melbourne passengers in 2019 were also transit passengers, who are not covered under the possible VTL.

There is also the cap on passengers to consider, he added. Each of the 11 VTL countries has a separate cap that can sometimes seem "arbitrary". "For example, the United States has a significantly higher VTL cap than Britain despite the US having less traffic with Singapore prior to the pandemic," he said.

UOB economist Barnabas Gan noted that the 2.3 per cent of Singapore's total trade contributed by Australia comes up to about only 0.5 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product.

Still, he said that the reopening of Australia may be seen as one of the first few signs of more economies reopening in an endemic Covid-19 environment.

Travellers have been keen.

Chan Brothers Travel said it received over 50 inquiries within hours of Mr Morrison's press conference, adding that it is raring to go, with product and marketing efforts long ready.

About 464,700 Singaporeans went to Australia between July 2018 and June 2019.

Singapore Airlines said yesterday it will be expanding its capacity with Sydney, with the Airbus A380 returning to the Australian city on Dec 1. Its budget arm Scoot also announced its launch of promotional fares for flights from Singapore to Sydney, starting from $219, and Melbourne, starting from $199.

Companies here have also already made bookings.

Mr Guy Scott, chairman of project management consultancy TBH International, has already booked a ticket to arrive in Sydney next month. During Covid-19, his company had to relocate staff to Singapore from its Australian operation.

A Singapore-based staff member missed an opportunity to be on a project in Melbourne six months ago as the client demanded on-the-ground presence, Mr Scott said.

Asia director of agri-business consulting firm Beanstalk Agtech Rob Hulme also said his company has already made flight bookings.

He said: "Our consulting practice has been impacted heavily (when borders were shut).

"The lack of travel across the Indo Pacific region has restricted opportunities to develop in-market relationships, particularly important across Asia."