Although it's hard to dream about travelling right now, many of us are probably asking, "when can we travel again?". Travel restrictions might not be lifted soon and we aren't able to travel out of Singapore yet. But a few days ago, there was some news on a possible Singapore-Korea travel bubble.
Singapore-Korea travel bubble
According to The Straits Times, Singapore and South Korea started "very preliminary, exploratory talks" on a possible travel bubble in March 2021. South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki also said that the government is looking to form travel bubbles with other countries to revive air travel as it's been badly hit by Covid-19.
According to sources, Singapore is said to be one of the top choices when it comes to forming an air travel bubble with South Korea. Other destinations that have been considered are New Zealand, Taiwan, Guam and Saipan.
Covid-19 situation in Singapore and South Korea
Singapore currently has over 62,000 Covid-19 cases while South Korea has over 142,000 Covid-19 cases. The number of daily new cases in Singapore has been ranging from around 18 to over 40 cases while South Korea has reported 500-700 cases daily over the past 2 weeks. Both countries have also imposed stricter restrictions in the past 2 weeks to curb the spread of the virus.
As for vaccination rates, nearly 40 per cent of Singaporeans and around 13 per cent of South Koreans have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Singapore's current travel arrangements and travel bubble plans
Currently, Singapore has air travel pass (ATP) agreements with Australia (excluding Victoria), Brunei, China and New Zealand. Travellers from these countries are allowed to enter Singapore as short-term visitors after being isolated for up to 48 hours while they wait for their Covid-19 test results.
However, Singapore's travel bubble plans have not yet taken off. The Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble has been postponed twice - one in November 2020 and the other in May 2021.
Elsewhere in the region, there's been news about Singapore's travel bubble plans with Australia, Batam-Bintan and Sabah but there are no updates on any of them.
When can we see a Singapore-Korea travel bubble?
As of now, it's still too early to tell when a Singapore-Korea travel bubble will launch. If anything, we predict that a travel bubble will only happen when the average number of Covid-19 cases in both Singapore and South Korea drop to a single digit.
It's also very likely that a travel bubble will only happen when the majority of Singaporeans have received one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, possibly by August 2021.
Then again, it won't be much of a surprise if Singapore and South Korea eventually form a travel bubble as South Korea ahead of other countries. That's because the country was voted as the top destination that Singaporeans want a travel bubble with, according to an online poll conducted by The Straits Times.
While we wait in anticipation for the Singapore-Korea travel bubble, we can only look forward to the new things to do in Korea, enjoy yummy halal Korean food in Singapore and binge-watch our favourite Korean shows!