11/06/2020
What is a “travel bubble?”
Five Things to Know About Travel Bubbles
Neighboring countries are striking agreements that permit trips across their borders. Is this the future of travel?
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Australia and New Zealand are determining when to implement a travel bubble that would allow residents to fly back and forth between the countries, sans quarantine.. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
By Melissa Locker
SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
MAY 28, 2020
379462
As summer creeps closer and the coronavirus pandemic rages on, people are accepting the reality that vacations and travel as we knew it are not happening this year.
Would-be tourists with wanderlust are dreaming about travel returning to normal, but so are businesses. The U.N. World Tourism Organization estimates that international tourism could decline by up to 80 percent this year over 2019, putting at least 100 million jobs at risk.
While most people are sheltering in place and many countries have closed their borders to prevent the spread of the virus, some essential travel has been allowed. People travel for family emergencies, for instance, while doctors and nurses head to hotspots to help treat those in need.
For those who have embarked on international travel, it typically requires two weeks of self-isolation to see if any coronavirus symptoms appear. While that works for people returning home or staying in a destination long-term, spending 14 days inside is not an ideal vacation for most travelers.
There is one glimmer of hope: travel bubbles.
What is a “travel bubble?”
Travel bubbles, also called travel bridges or corona corridors, do away with that waiting period for a select group of travelers from certain countries where the coronavirus has been contained. “In a ‘travel bubble’ a set of countries agree to open their borders to each other, but keep borders to all other countries closed. So people can move freely within the bubble, but cannot enter from the outside,” says Per Block, an Oxford University researcher in social mobility and methodology. “The idea is to allow people additional freedom without causing additional harm.” Travel bubbles are an extension of one of Block’s research specialties —social bubbles, where people expand their quarantine zones to include more people they consider safe. Block is one of the authors of an Oxford study that suggests social bubbles could be an effective strategy to alleviating coronavirus isolation, although the findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.
Cr.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/five-things-know-about-travel-bubbles-180974983/