As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes increasingly available among popular travel destinations, tourists are pairing their getaway vacations with vaccination appointments around the world.
After a complete halt in tourist traffic throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of countries with an excess of vaccinations are opening their borders and offering immunizations to international travelers. Though vaccine tourism aims to promote herd immunity, it may also overwhelm airports and result in increased travel even as nations across the globe are urging citizens to stay home to mitigate rising rates of infection.
The recent tourism trend began in December 2020 as package deals became available to travelers unable to receive vaccinations in their home countries. Tour operators and travel agencies introduced “shot trips” to destinations like New York and Moscow, guaranteeing tourists a direct route to vaccination centers and access to popular hotels where partially immune visitors could hunker down for the 4-week waiting period in between doses. The alleged deals have drawn scrutiny from medical professionals and government officials who question the ethicality of travel during the pandemic and argue that international vacationers should not be prioritized in countries where residents are not entirely immunized. Nonetheless, vaccine tourism is becoming increasingly prevalent as stir-crazy travelers look to welcoming destinations for preventative treatment and long-awaited adventure.
Because of their remote location and small native population, the exotic islands of the Maldives are fully open to tourists, and government officials of the small Indian Ocean nation have announced plans to offer coronavirus vaccines to international visitors. Though the plan has yet to be put into practice, a new Maldivian tourism campaign has established a ‘3V’ process to allow incoming tourists to ‘Visit, Vaccinate, and Vacation.’ The nation plans to implement its vaccination rollout after all local residents have been offered both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. Travelers who wish to receive a vaccine upon entry into the Maldives should expect to remain in the lush vacation region for several weeks to be administered both doses of a two-dose vaccine.
Cuba is also hoping for a resurgence of tourism in the wake of global immunizations after closing its borders over a year ago to stop the spread of the coronavirus during its deadliest outbreak. After successfully launching the conjugate Soberana 02 vaccine in early 2021, Cuba hopes to produce 100 million doses within the next six months in order to vaccinate its entire population along with incoming tourists during peak travel season. Like several other locations across the globe touting vacation package deals, Cuba is offering extended stays for those who wish to receive a vaccine upon entry into the Pearl of the Antilles. Its rollout plan aims to boost the fragile economy of Havana and more remote regions of the island while putting Cuba back on the map as a beloved hotspot of travel and commerce.
Beginning on June 1st, Alaska will offer free vaccines to global travelers in a bid to revitalize its tourism industry after a complete ban on cruises last March followed by relentless travel warnings over the past year. The state plans to administer shots outside of security areas at its four major airports in Juneau, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Anchorage. With a small resident population, Alaska’s vaccine tourism plan stems from an overabundance of inoculations in comparison to nearly every other state across the country facing millions of upcoming appointments and following more rigid eligibility guidelines. Unlike other travel destinations providing vaccines, Alaska is not requiring visitors who receive a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna to prolong visitations for a second shot. As the first U.S. state to endorse vaccine tourism, Alaska is preparing for an uptick in incoming travel prompted by free appointments and eligibility for anyone 16 or older.
Though many nations outside of the U.S. have struggled to obtain and distribute ample doses of COVID-19 vaccines, President Biden’s rollout plan has been one of the most efficient across the globe, attracting visitors without access to vaccinations produced by Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson in their home countries. States like Florida and Texas have recently faced an influx of tourists from predominantly Latin American nations like Brazil and Argentina where vaccination rollouts are too slow to properly combat a dreaded new wave of the infectious COVID-19 variant. Eager citizens within the United States are also crowding airports and congesting roadways across domestic borders to get their first doses in distant areas rather than waiting for eligibility in their native states. With the promise of upcoming freedom and normalcy after an isolating and divisive year, the COVID-19 vaccination is prompting domestic and international migration among those desperate for immunization.
The rise in vaccine tourism certainly speeds along the global inoculation process, but this costly trend also leads to further marginalization for native citizens without eligibility or the financial privilege to safely travel for a vaccine. As millions await solace and regularity ushered in by mass immunity in the coming months, countries around the world are slowly opening their borders to provide extra vaccines for tourists interested in and able to skip the wait at home.
