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Singapore’s ‘vaccinated travel lanes’ see Expedia flight searches soar

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Singapore’s newly created “vaccinated travel lane” has sparked flight inquires as citizens of Singapore seek to benefit from easing international travel regulations.

Searches for cities within Singapore’s so-called VTLs doubled — and in some cases almost tripled, according to Expedia Group data. After government officials opened new routes that are free from quarantine to travel between countries in Europe, North America, and Asia.

International travel made easy

This week Singapore announced quarantine-free travel with Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. starting Oct. 19 — as well as South Korea from Nov. 15.To ensure that they do not become infected, travelers will need to be immunized and undergo Covid-19 screenings.

This announcement represented a significant expansion of the VTL program for the island nation, currently including Brunei and Germany.

After the announcement, there was an increase in search interest from Singaporeans week-on-week.

  • Seoul, South Korea — 180%
  • Vancouver, Canada — 160%
  • Frankfurt, Germany — 130%
  • London, United Kingdom — 120%
  • Los Angeles, United States — 80%

According to Expedia, the search data shows a shift of consumer interest in international travel. The top searched places in Singapore for August were the following: Japan, Hong Kong and Maldives, Taiwan, among others.

On December 7, 2020, visitors walked through the terminal at Singapore Changi Airport.

Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

Choo Pin Ang said that VTLs “have definitely had an effect in terms of what people think about traveling, where they are looking to travel, as well as how they plan their trip.” “Capital Connection”Tuesday

He said that traditional destinations will continue to grow in popularity with the announcement of further easements. Already, Singaporean-based searches to book year-end travel both to VTL and other destinations has tripled between June and October.

Regressive lockdown, people being denied travel and no freedom of movement are not things I believe we will return to.

Amit Saberwal

Reddoorz’s founder and CEO

This is good news for the struggling travel industry. This is as of Wednesday Singapore Airlines’The stock price rose by more than 9% during the week shares of SATS — which provides ground and in-flight catering services at Singapore Changi Airport — increased around 5%.

RedDoorz’s founder and CEO, Amit Saberwal said Wednesday that “happy days” are back. While they may be early days in the process, I do not believe that we will go back to restrictive lockdowns and people not being allowed to travel. It’s our chance to shine once again.

The Headwinds are still

According to Singapore officials, there will be more travel lanes that are free from quarantine, some of which may even be in Asia-Pacific in the coming months.

Ang stated that Australia, New Zealand, and Japan will likely be included.

On Monday, Thailand announced that it would lift quarantine restrictions on travelers coming from low-risk nations, such as Singapore, starting in November.

He said that VTLs’ effectiveness will be determined by the economic and political ties formed between Singapore and the other countries. They also need to have high vaccination rates and show progress in mitigating Covid.

Still, headwinds remain. Travel restrictions are changing and the daily VTL arrivals to Singapore at a maximum of 3,000 per day, Ang advised that travelers “be agile” and make flexible bookings. He also recommended purchasing Covid-inclusive insurance prior to departing.

— Shubhangi Goel This report was contributed by you.

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