Just as it was looking like Australian borders were never going to open, states last week began making announcements about the easing of border restrictions with Victoria. Interstate travel is predicted to be far more fluid prior to the Christmas period with all states bar Western Australia making a verbal commitment on Friday’s national cabinet meeting to open state borders come December 25^th.

This change in heart comes has Victoria extends its lack of recorded COVID19 cases daily. As of Monday, the 16^th, Victoria had gone 17 days without recording any cases of COVID19. An effort that is only surpassed by ACT (who hasn’t had a case of COVID19 for 26 days) and Tasmania (who has gone a full 97 days without a case of COVID19).

It’s news that lifestyle travellers and family members who are edging to visit interstate have been waiting for since June of this year. But it even more so paints a positive picture for 2021 tourism and travel recovery. With not just lifestyle travel predicted to bolster the interstate tourism economy, but corporate travel as well.

Corporate travel, in fact, accounts in majority for one of the most travelled routes in Australia. That airline route being the trip between Melbourne and Sydney. NSW last week announced that on November 23^rd the Victorian border would be open to all from NSW and the NSW border would be open to all Victorians. To clarify that point, this means that Victorians do not need exceptions, passes or to mandatorily quarantine upon entering NSW by plane, boat or car.

It’s not just NSW though. The QLD health minister, last week, was quoted claiming that she is “very hopeful” that the QLD/Victorian border will be open come December 1^st. Northern Territory on the other hand has already eased restrictions for Victorians travelling from the regions but are planning to do the same for Melbourne in the coming weeks.

South Australia however as of Monday had suffered a mishap, with an outbreak becoming apparent in Northern Adelaide having accounted already for 21 cases in total. The Northern Territory, QLD and Western Australia as of Monday had all announced border restrictions with South Australia for the short term to ensure the outbreak was curbed.

Despite the setback, what is now apparent is that the majority of Australia’s states now agree on what defines a COVID19 hotspot and they’re beginning to agree on deadlines for when borders should open. A move that should give tourism operators, corporate travellers and airlines an air of confidence in their future.