Borders to open – South Australia's COVID-Ready Plan

A plan to reopen our state and ease restrictions has been released – with 23 November set for when South Australia will open borders to fully-vaccinated people from all Australian states and territories.

It is the date SA is expected to reach the national vaccination target of 80 per cent and comes earlier than initially expected. As one of the first ‘COVID-free’ states to open to fully-vaccinated travellers in NSW and Victoria – our state’s key domestic markets – this is an opportunity for our industry.

At 23 November, SA’s COVID-Ready Plan also outlines that quarantine for vaccinated international arrivals will drop from 14 days to 7 days.

Restrictions will also ease, including the relaxation of caps on home gatherings and private activity.

When vaccination rates hit 90 per cent (of people aged 12 years and over), SA's borders will open to fully vaccinated international travellers, without the need for quarantine. While no date has been pegged for this, it is expected that this will be reached by the end of the year.

At that time, restrictions on most activities will be lifted – with high-risk activities such as nightclubs and standing alcohol consumption – available for the fully-vaccinated only.

The SATC has been increasing our marketing activity into the Eastern states as our state has worked to ramp up vaccination levels, and we will be doubling down on our efforts to get visitors booking trips over the coming weeks.

With Christmas, the peak summer tourism period and our festival season not too far around the corner – the reopening to domestic tourism is a real opportunity for our state and one that we will take full advantage of.

I know this news will be welcomed by many operators keen to see the return of interstate travel – we’ve been working hard to keep South Australia top of mind for those people looking for a holiday, so it is terrific we have a pathway forward as we head into the valuable summer holiday period.

For details of the COVID-Ready Plan, see covid-19.sa.gov.au/response.

I will continue to keep you updated.

Rodney Harrex
Chief Executive

View the Industry Update – 26 October 2021.