Singapore-South Korea vaccinated travel lane starts on Nov 15

SINGAPORE and South Korea will jointly launch travel lanes for fully vaccinated people on Nov 15, although more details will be announced only “in due course”, Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a statement on Friday (Oct 8).

The two-way Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) is Singapore’s third VTL during the pandemic, following schemes for vaccinated arrivals from Germany and Brunei that began in early September.

Singapore also intends to have a VTL with the United States by year-end, with efforts now under way, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong announced during his visit to Washington on Thursday (Oct 7).

Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC, told The Business Times in an email: “This would be the first travel corridor to North Asia and it represents a big step forward – especially after the earlier disappointments with the Hong Kong travel bubble.”

Said Simon Er, deputy president of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore: “Any new VTLs or border openings will be promising developments – just that we don’t think it will be opening the floodgates.”

At the same time, Singapore and South Korea have also agreed to mutually recognise vaccination certificates issued by each country, which will let travellers benefit from vaccination-differentiated safe-management privileges at either end of their journey.

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The Singapore-South Korea scheme will allow fully vaccinated travellers to travel between Changi Airport and Seoul’s Incheon Airport with no restrictions on the purpose of their trips. Covid-19 tests will replace the requirement for isolation on arrival.

“Both Singapore and the Republic of Korea have made excellent progress in vaccinating our populations and the VTLs reflect the trust both countries have in each other’s ability to manage the Covid-19 situation,” said Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who called the deal “another milestone” for Singapore’s border reopening and resumption of air travel.

Before the pandemic, Singapore and South Korea were linked by 64 weekly passenger services that carried 1.6 million travellers a year, figures from the MOT showed.

South Korean arrivals accounted for 645,850 of Singapore’s 19.12 million short-term visitors in 2019, though the number tumbled by 86.1 per cent to 89,520 in 2020.

Er told The Business Times that the latest arrangement “does present good opportunities”, as South Korea “has always been a top draw for Singaporeans”, while their counterparts may be eyeing winter leisure travel as well.

Ling added: “The economic impact may still be relatively muted in the initial stage, but I do expect a good response from Singaporeans.”

READ MORE: 

• Singapore, US working to open travel lane soon: Gan Kim Yong
• Vaccinated travel lanes unlikely to save Singapore tourism sector just yet
• VTL has created sustained interest in Germany tours: travel agencies
• Vaccinated travel lane a big boost for businesses