Singapore welcomes the first international delegation back

Singapore welcomes the first international delegation back

Singapore officially resumed international tourism, when flight SQ325 carrying 100 passengers from Germany landed at Changi Airport on the afternoon of September 8 (local time).

Flight SQ325 is the beginning of Singapore's "Vaccinated Travel Lane" - VTL program, piloted with Germany and Brunei and then expanded to other countries.

According to the VTL program, vaccinated travelers will have to take 4 Covid-19 tests, but in return do not have to be isolated. VTL flights are also designated by the Singapore government. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said it had issued travel passes under the VTL scheme to 1,412 travelers from Germany. Meanwhile, the first VTL flight from Brunei will arrive today (September 9).

Flight SQ325 from Frankfurt (Germany) landed at Changi Airport (Singapore) on the afternoon of September 8 local time

Mr. Andreas Spaeth - a tourist on the first VTL flight from Germany said that the immigration process and Covid-19 testing after landing in Singapore went smoothly. But the guest said that the required procedures before the trip, like scheduling PCR tests and preparing vaccination certificates can be difficult for those who are not tech-savvy.

While Brunei remains closed to tourism, Germany has opened its doors to Singaporean visitors since October last year. This makes it possible for Singaporeans to travel to Germany under the VTL program without being quarantined at the destination and when returning home. Therefore, VTL brings hope to businesses and tourists, after the Singapore - Hong Kong (China) tourism bubble failed.

Mr. Steven Ler - Chairman of Singapore Travel Association said that the success of the first VTL flight was a breakthrough. Singapore's opening to Germany is a good start for international tourism; Many travel agencies have received requests for tours to Germany at the end of the year. Meanwhile, some German nationals living in Singapore have booked tickets on VTL flights to see their families again, after a long separation.

Germany was only Singapore's 15th largest source market in 2019, with 381,000 arrivals. Singapore Airlines (SIA) will operate three weekly VTL flights from Frankfurt and two weekly VTL flights from Munich. Travel booking platform Expedia says it has seen a nearly 10-fold increase in search traffic from Singapore for flights to Munich and Frankfurt, following the VTL announcement on August 19.