Australia is due to reopen borders to fully vaccinated international tourists on 21 February after 704 days of closure. The government banned cruise vessels from its waters during the pandemic and is due to review arrangements on 17 February after consulting with states and territories.

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents said: “The acknowledgement from the prime minister that the risk posed by double vaccinated travellers is no more than that presented by vaccinated Australians should also speed up the normalisation of travel. 

“This should include allowing cruise ships to again enter Australian waters with the lifting of the current biosecurity emergency measures in place to 17 February.”

Afta chief executive Dean Long said: “The re-opening of our international border to all fully vaccinated travellers from 21 February after more than 700 days is a massive step forward towards travel returning to normal.
 
“Afta looks forward to understanding more detail around the commitment, including the response from state and territory governments and the details of the vaccine recognition as well as the testing and quarantine requirements.”

The association has also been lobbying for a £100 million travel sector skills retention and recovery package.

It argues that Australia’s travel agents are helping manage “up to $6 billion in credits” (£3.16 billion) for Covid-impacted travel, adding: “This, on top of the complexities of travelling in Covid times, means more and more Australians are relying more heavily on their travel professionals than ever before.”

Long added: “The prime minister’s announcement does not change the need for this support.”