Australia reopened to international travel Monday, scraping most of its restrictions on tourists.
The move ends nearly two years of self-imposed international isolation, which saw Australia strictly limit entry to non-citizens, effectively ending foreign tourism.
"It is a very exciting day, one that I have been looking forward to for a long time, from the day that I first shut that border right at the start of the pandemic," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday.
More than fifty international flights are slated to arrive in Australia Monday, including 27 in Sydney alone.
The reopening of incoming international air travel is a relief to Australia’s tourism industry, once a key part of the country’s economy that has been sidelined by nearly two years of COVID restrictions.
The reopening does not mark a complete repeal of pandemic travel restrictions, however, with unvaccinated foreign nationals still barred from entering the country.
Last month, Australia’s travel regulations made international headlines when the country deported Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic after the government cancelled his entry visa due to his status as unvaccinated. Djokovic had flown to Australia to defend his title in the Australian Open.