TAIWAN

Reopens!

Having scrapped its COVID regulations, the self-ruled island is now allowing quarantine-free entry for the first time in more than two and a half years.

After removing some of the longest-lasting pandemic border controls in the world, Taiwan has officially reopened to travellers in large numbers. Visitors started arriving on the island on 13th October 2022 without requiring quarantine or PCR tests.

Soon after midnight, Taiwanese officials greeted the first group of tourists who had arrived on a flight from Bangkok at the island’s primary international airport in Taipei. Chang Shi-Chung, Director General of the tourism bureau, told reporters that the opportunity presented by the island’s reopening was to “bring back to life and rebuild cross-border tourism.”

Aside from mainland China, which has maintained a rigorous”zero COVID” policy despite the worldwide trend toward coexisting with the virus, Taiwan is the last significant economy to lift the COVID-19 quarantine. In an effort to rebuild their shattered travel sectors, Japan and Hong Kong recently lifted pandemic-related border restrictions.

Visitors still have to undergo quick antigen testing and keep track of their health for seven days under the new border regulations.