Tourism Australia is excited to be welcoming back travellers from Malaysia to Australia, with Australia reopening its borders for fully vaccinated visa holders, tourists, business travellers, and other visitors around the world from today, 21 February 2022.
The announcement is part of Australia’s planned re-opening of international travel and builds on quarantine–free travel arrangements with Singapore, which came into effect on 21 November 2021, and for visitors from Japan and South Korea along with Working Holiday Makers from 15 December 2021. Visa holders who are not fully vaccinated will still require a valid travel exemption to enter Australia, and will be subject to state and territory quarantine requirements.
Tourism Australia Regional General Manager South and South-East Asia, Brent Anderson, said he hopes Malaysians will jump on the opportunity to fall in love with Australia all over again.
“Australia has long been a popular outbound destination for Malaysian travellers, with 72% repeat visitation,” he said. “In this new era of global travel, Australia’s endless opportunities to get out into nature while enjoying cosmopolitan and multicultural city landscapes have never been more precious or desirable. Australia has in store a range of diverse, creative and sustainable new experiences to entice Malaysian travellers – our numerous tourism operators have continued to innovate and evolve, and this comes to life in our artisanal coffee and restaurant scene as well. For everyone who’s missed Australia, there’s no better time to awaken your sense of wonder and unlock your imagination by taking that trip to Australia now.”
Tourism Australia will be kicking off a new tourism campaign to welcome Malaysian visitors back to Australia in the coming weeks. As part of this campaign, Tourism Australia will be working with a range of key distribution and airline partners to maximise opportunities to drive bookings and recovery for Australia’s hard-hit tourism economy. Partners include Apple Vacations, Corporate Information Travel, Forever Travel, Holiday Tours & Travel, and Sedunia Travel who will provide tactical offers aimed at stimulating travel to Australia from Malaysia.
Tourism Australia is also partnering with Malaysia Airlines to support the recovery of the airline industry and recommence services into Australia in the coming months.
“We are really excited that Malaysians can once again discover the incredible tourism experiences that await them in Australia,” said Karen Saw, Tourism Australia’s Business Development Manager in Malaysia. “Throughout the pandemic, Tourism Australia has maintained an active presence to keep Australia top of mind in the market. We know that Malaysians have been actively dreaming of visiting Australia again, and we are looking forward to converting that pent-up desire for Australia’s tourism
offering into travel bookings and visits, in close collaboration with our valued trade and distribution partners. Malaysia, Australia is now yours to explore! Come and enjoy incredible experiences featuring Australia’s world-class natural beauty and wildlife, food and drink, and welcoming people – as well as some of the lesser-known parts of Australia that make us such a popular holiday destination.”
More information, including tips on where to go and what to see, is available on Australia.com.
TRAVELLING TO AUSTRALIA
- From 21 February 2022, visa holders who are fully vaccinated with two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved COVID-19 vaccine can travel to Australia quarantine-free, without the need to apply for a travel exemption.
- To be eligible to enter Australia, international travellers must:
○ hold a valid Australian visa.
○ be fully vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and provide proof of
vaccination status.
○ Present a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) taken within 24 hours, or
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours, of
departure (unless a medical exemption applies).
- As of 7 February 2022, fully vaccinated visa holders can enter all states and territories quarantine-free from 21 February 2022, except for Western Australia.
- Travellers will need to comply with requirements in the state or territory of their arrival, and any other state or territories that they plan to travel to. Information on entry requirements is updated regularly so it is important to check the latest requirements before travelling. Travellers are also encouraged to check any requirements for stopover destinations that they are transitioning through.
- For requirements for travel into specific states and territories in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website | State and Territory Information.
- For more information on travelling to Australia visit the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs I Travelling to Australia
MARKET PROFILE
- Malaysia is Australia’s eighth largest source market for international visitation and tenth most valuable for spend.
- 385,000 Malaysians travelled to Australia in 2019, making up 4 per cent of all Australia’s international arrivals.
- 72% of Malaysian leisure travellers are repeat visitors to Australia, of which 61% have visited the country more than twice. This familiarity with our country is a huge strength, and an opportunity to encourage them to explore new and less familiar Australian destinations.
- Total expenditure by Malaysian travellers equated to $1.3 billion, of which $721 million was spent by leisure travellers alone. On average they spend $2,487 per leisure trip and $194 per night.
- Leisure travellers from Malaysia spend on average 13 nights holidaying in Australia, of which 42% are spent in regions.
- 37% of all Malaysian visitors in 2019 visited two or more cities or regions in Australia. Victoria was the most visited state followed by WA, NSW, and QLD.
- Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, International Visitor Survey YE Dec 2019
