Korea-Singapore travel bubble: Airlines, tour operators gear up for travel recovery

Airlines and tour operators are anticipating a busy travel season ahead as borders are set to open between South Korea and Singapore.

Korea formed a travel bubble agreement with Singapore on Oct. 8, the country’s second after a similar deal with Saipan. This would allow those who are vaccinated to travel freely without the need for quarantining, starting Nov. 15. The COVID-19 vaccination certificates will also be mutually recognized.

“Upon hearing the news on the second travel bubble agreement, we are swiftly planning for a special promotion related to Singapore travels in the near future,” an official from Asiana Airlines told The Korea Herald on Friday.

Airlines have already seen a bump in demand since the first travel bubble agreement with Saipan kicked off in July, especially as vaccination has picked up pace.

At least 4,000 people have already booked flights to Saipan in the coming months, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Between Aug. 1 to Oct. 12, some 1,852 people traveled to Saipan from Korea, official statistics showed. Of them, more than a third had traveled to the Marianas archipelago in the first two weeks of October alone.

To cope with demand, multiple airlines, including Asiana Airlines, T’way Airlines, and Jeju Air, have resumed their regular routes to Saipan.

Despite the uptick in demand, another major airline was more cautious, saying that a full recovery would take time and is a step-by-step process.

“Although it is true we have optimistic views following the government’s second travel bubble signing, we can’t say that a drastic change is being seen at this moment,” said the airline official, who declined to be named.

Airlines first form agreements with major travel agencies to gauge demand, before opening up regular flights once business is deemed stable, the official said, adding that it is only at the beginning stage of recovery at the moment.

Travel agencies are also shifting gears in light of the reopening. One of the top travel agencies in South Korea, HanaTour, announced a special tour package for trips to Singapore earlier on Monday.

HanaTour returned to normal operations starting Oct. 1, after most of its employees were forced to take a leave of absence since April last year.

“Recently, many countries from European regions have issued a lift in travel bans to foreign travelers regardless of the country that they are in, which is a very positive signal for us,” Cho Il-sang, chief manager of HanaTour told The Korea Herald on Friday. “We also expect that the travel bubbles will eventually become no longer necessary as restrictions ease both in Korea, and other countries.”

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)

Korea-Singapore travel bubble: Airlines, tour operators gear up for travel recovery
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