South-east Asian travel bubbles will face delays

Significance

However, talks between the two sides appear to be progressing slowly. Meanwhile, Thailand is allowing vaccinated travellers to visit the resort island of Phuket under a special ‘sandbox’ scheme.

Impacts

• Regional air traffic will likely remain at very low levels until the end of the year.
• Most South-east Asian countries will look to expand and diversify their vaccine portfolios.
• Further COVID-19 lockdowns will hold back attempts to revive pandemic-hit economies.