Leisure Travel Might Not Be Possible for the Whole of 2020; Travel is Only for Work or Business Now

Have you already bought an air-ticket to Bangkok for a vacation at the end of this year, thinking that by then, COVID-19 transmissions would be under control and you can finally breathe easy, both figuratively and literally?

Well, unless you can change the destination to Mars or Jupiter, you can kiss your trip goodbye.

“The Covid-19 Infection Around the World is Unlikely to Go Away”

You might have heard of some “green lanes” thingy or some border control easing thingy, and if you think that means tourism is mainstream, you should really kick the habit of just skimming through headlines.

Whether it’s the “green lane” that Singapore has or other border control easing, most of them are meant for business or work travel.

If you’re an influencer who goes to Bali, takes selfies and tells your followers it’s work, I’ve bad news for you: in the real world whereby people work for a living, travelling for work means heading to a country, staying in a hotel and going for intense meetings with lots of shouting in an office. It’s supposed to be super boring and super time-consuming.

Like what National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said, “A traveller coming in through a reciprocal green lane has to abide by and comply with certain control measures, including testing at the point of departure and point of arrival, and then following a very strict and controlled itinerary.”

But we’re talking about people coming into Singapore; how about us leaving Singapore?

For a start, the COVID-19 situation worldwide isn’t improving despite massive lockdowns everywhere months ago. Mr Wong said, “Looking at the situation, the Covid-19 infection around the world is unlikely to go away. At the end of the year, it will continue to be with us, even till next year.

“So, it is unlikely that we will see improvement in the situation in the near term, which means that our travel advisory position is unlikely to change in the near term as well.”

And what’s the travel advisory?

Don’t travel, you selfish fellow.

Or in the words of MOH, “All Singaporeans and residents of Singapore are still advised to defer all travel abroad. However, essential business and official travel will be permitted under Green/ Fast Lane arrangements.”

Even if one country decided to live in a parallel universe and open its border to international travellers for leisure, you’d have to pay a price when you come back.

Literally.

When you come back, you’d have to serve a 14-day Stay-Home Notice, and if you were in a high-risk area, you need to serve it in a dedicated facility.

Also, you’d need to take a COVID-19 test.

And here’s the thing: you need to pay for all of them.

For example, if you need to stay in a dedicated facility for 14 days, you might need to pay about $2,000 for your entire lonely stayaction, and up to $200 for the COVID-19 test.

But of course, take note of the word “might”. For all you know, Neo might come down tomorrow and install an anti-virus software, and COVID-19 will be part of history.

Just don’t plan anything for this year lah.

In the meantime, you can help stop the transmission of the virus by downloading the TraceTogether app. If you’re still worried about privacy, you might want to watch this video: