Omicron fears stall plans to reopen borders

Amid all the uncertainty caused by the arrival of Omicron, one thing we can say with some conviction is that the new variant is further bad news for the region’s beleaguered tourism industry. Up until last week, countries across Asia had been making slow but steady progress in reopening their international borders, and it is notable that Singapore and Malaysia today pressed ahead with plans to reopen their land border for the first time in nearly two years. Elsewhere in the region, however, countries are closing their doors again. Indonesia has reintroduced quarantine for all inbound travellers, while the Philippines and Japan have banned foreign visitors from entering the country. Singapore has also put on hold plans to open vaccinated travels lanes with the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Most countries in the region have also introduced travel restrictions with southern Africa. The worsening prospects for regional tourism reinforce our view that after an initial reopening bounce in the final quarter of the year, economic recoveries will start to lose momentum in early 2022 and that policymakers will look to keep monetary policy loose for the foreseeable future to support demand.