I never thought I’d say this but when I saw queues at immigration at Changi airport last night, my heart leapt with joy. It felt almost back to near normal.
Firstly, the Singapore Airlines’ VTL flight from Penang was pretty full – the crew told me 90%. Everyone just seemed so cheerful inflight– who wouldn’t be after a holiday in Penang, right?
Changi airport was packed with passengers waiting to board their flights. It felt so good to see places like Melbourne, London, Frankfurt back on the boarding gates. At Terminal 1 arrival, there were lots of staff about to make sure visitors were being herded to the right queue. “Have you submitted your online health declaration?” “Have you had Covid the last few days?” I am not sure what happens if you answer yes to that but the queue for “Recovered Vaccinated Travellers” was the longest, by the way.
The baggage took a while as well because on one belt, three flights were being handled. Then there was the taxi queue. At home, I took an ART test (required within 24 hours of arrival) and submitted the result online. Since my first trip in November, and two subsequent trips after that, travel is getting easier.
And it will get even easier from tomorrow. On April 1, Singapore will reopen its borders to all fully vaccinated travellers, removing all existing vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) and unilateral opening arrangements. All fully vaccinated travellers, as well as children aged 12 and below, will be able to enter Singapore with just a pre-departure Covid-19 test – no more on-arrival ART test needed.
Hooray, the fewer tests the better and let’s get rid of PCR tests. If you’ve got to have tests, then let them be ART.
So yes, sirree, queues are back, and so is travel.
Tomorrow too, Malaysia will reopen its borders but the biggest news is the opening of the land border between Malaysia and Singapore without the need for any tests. Can you imagine the surge there will be in road trips to Malaysia by Singaporeans? For two years, they’ve been deprived of their weekly jaunts for food, provisions and everything else its neighbor has to offer and now, ready, set go.
Anticipating this reopening moment, the Singapore Tourism Board released this video, So You Think You Know Singapore, clearly to challenge people’s perceptions of the destination. Does it challenge yours? Does it make you want to visit?
Speaking to industry friends in Singapore, I learn that web searches of Sentosa, in particular, have gone through the roof, especially from India. One travel executive described it as “epic” the searches for Singapore after news of the April 1 reopening. Australia is the other market that’s seeing the strongest recovery in demand for destinations in Asia, including for Singapore. Meanwhile, with social restrictions being eased – dining for 10, masks off while outdoors, bars can now stay open past 10.30pm, live music is back, etc etc – Singapore is feeling “near normal” again.
This video from Tourism Malaysia, promoting the destination as well as detailing the steps travellers have to take before arrival, has also been making the rounds. And there’s also a video on Tik Tok from the country’s Minister of Health, Khiary Jamaluddin, explaining the rules of entry.
@khairykj Planning to travel to Malaysia from 1 April 2022? Find out what you need to do. #fyp @kkmputrajaya
I don’t know if the steps will put some travellers off – the MySejahtera app is temperamental in my experience and after all there are easier places to visit these days – but at least the video makes it clear what you have to do. The next logical step is of course to remove the pre-departure PCR test and on-arrival, just as Cambodia has done.
Meanwhile, curious to see what the rules are for Bali – I am planning a trip there in May – I went to the Indonesia travel website and found this on the latest regulations – it lost me at Point No 2. I will revisit the site closer to the time when I want to visit. Hopefully, it will become easier by then.
And this is still the bugbear of travellers – the different rules across destinations. A Singapore friend was due to visit South Korea this weekend. However her PCR test 48 hours before departure was positive even though she contracted Covid in February – her ART test is negative. Some countries accept a Recovery Certificate from visitors but apparently not South Korea, so she’s been told and now she’s planning to go elsewhere instead. “I badly need a break,” she said.
But at least, among countries in North Asia, South Korea has reopened. Now we wait for China, Hong Kong, Taipei and oh yes, Japan. Will we have to go through another year of missing cherry blossom time in Japan?
Let’s keep the good news coming – we will put up with the queues if it means the rebound of travel in Asia.
Featured image: Arrival at Terminal 1, Changi Airport last night.
