During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories, or prevented their own citizens from travelling overseas.
Travel restrictions reduced the spread of the virus. However, because they were implemented after community transmission had begun in several countries around the globe, they produced only a modest reduction in the total number of infections. Travel restrictions may be most important at the start and end of a pandemic.Gowreesunkar V. et al. (2020). Tourism Destination Management in a Post-Pandemic Context: Global Issues and Destination Management Solutions. In Tourism Security-Safety and Post Conflict Destinations, Bingley, Emerald.
The travel restrictions brought a significant economic cost to the global tourism industry through lost income and social impacts on people who were unable to travel internationally. After travel bans lifted, global tourism saw a return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. However, some travel, especially business travel, may decrease in the long-term as lower cost alternatives, such as teleconferencing and virtual events have gained preference in the professional world.Chaya Hurnath and Kiran Dookhony-Ramphul. (2020). Exploring impacts of a Health crisis on emotional solidarity and support for tourism: Case of Mauritius. Tourism Destination Management in a Post-Pandemic Context: Global Issues and Destination Management Solutions. Emerald, Bingley UK. Some countries with large domestic markets, such as the United States, were able to see a faster recovery from increased domestic travel.
Effectiveness A study in Science found that travel restrictions could delay the initial arrival of COVID-19 in a country but had only modest overall effects unless combined with infection prevention and control measures to significantly reduce transmission. These findings are consistent with prior research on influenza and other communicable diseases. Travel bans may be most effective for isolated locations, such as small island nations.
Researchers came to the conclusion that "travel restrictions are most useful in the early and late phase of an epidemic" and "restrictions of travel from Wuhan unfortunately came too late".
Effects Together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic and social impact on the travel sector in their regions.Sharad Kumar Kulshreshtha. (2021). Virus Outbreaks and Tourism Mobility: Strategies to Counter Global Health Hazards. Emerald, New York, UK. During the pandemic, "slow travel" grew in popularity as tourists opted to avoid crowded destinations, instead taking their time to explore less well-known locations.
A possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. Concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Traveling to vaccinated venues that mandate COVID-19 vaccines to tourists/staff
Many tourism venues, including museums, visitor centers, restaurants, and hotels, required COVID-19 vaccination for their staff or visitors, designating them as "vaccinated venues". Research indicates that tourists have differing beliefs about the effectiveness and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, which influence their willingness to visit or use these venues.
Countries and territories which implemented a global travel ban
Africa Algeria: All international flights to Algeria were suspended. Effective 20 March 2022, people may enter Algeria unrestricted if fully vaccinated, or have received a negative COVID-19 test. The Gambia: The sole land border with Senegal was closed, along with its airspace to most flights. All COVID-19 related travel restrictions have since been removed. Madagascar: Madagascar suspended all flights with the exception of medical evacuations, repatriations outside of the country, and cargo shipments. Most COVID-19 related travel restrictions have since been removed, as of June 2022. Tourists are still required to have a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival. Mali: On 18 March 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita suspended flights from affected countries, closed schools, and banned large public gatherings. Morocco: On 15 March 2020, Morocco suspended all international passenger flights to and from the country. Sudan: Effective 17 March 2020, Sudan declared a state of emergency and closed all airports and land borders.
Americas Montserrat: During the pandemic, passengers were not allowed to enter Montserrat. In 2022, borders were reopened to international travel. Suriname: Closed its borders for all persons and flights starting 14 March 2020. Trinidad and Tobago: On 23 March 2020, Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders to everyone, but began processing exemptions for Trinidad & Tobago citizens and permanent residents. International borders in Trinidad and Tobago remained closed at least until 30 April 2021. Venezuela: Borders closed to non-residents, effective 10 April 2020. This excludes humanitarian, medevac, and repatriation flights.
Asia Azerbaijan: Effective 23 March 2020, passengers are not allowed to enter Azerbaijan except passengers with a work permit and passengers with a special permission issued by the government of Azerbaijan. Bhutan: Effective 24 March 2020, all foreign nationals were prohibited from entering Bhutan through any border checkpoints. Brunei: Effective 24 March 2020, all foreigners were not allowed to enter Brunei through any border checkpoints, including those for transit purposes. Cambodia: Foreign nationals were not allowed to enter Cambodia. India: Flights to India were suspended on 22 March 2020. This did not apply to flights that carried goods for trade or essential goods and supplies, and their crew members, helpers, cleaners, etc. Indonesia: Effective 1 April 2020, all foreigners (except residents, family connections, medical personnel, and people responsible for transport of goods) were not allowed to enter Indonesia through any border checkpoints, including those for transit purposes. Iran: Closed its borders to all non-residents, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had halted permits for all tourist, business, and medical visas. Israel: Effective 28 November 2021, Israel closed its borders again for foreigners due to the Omicron variant. Japan: Effective 28 December 2020, Japan closed its borders to all non-residents. On 29 November 2021, Japan also closed its borders to business travellers and foreign students due to the Omicron variant. Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan initially restricted the entry of most foreign nationals before resuming commercial flights with limited capacity. As of 10 October 2020, Kazakhstan has suspended visa-free entry to all foreign nationals. Certain foreign nationals in possession of a valid visa, however, are allowed to enter Kazakhstan, amongst them: students attending higher education institutions in Kazakhstan, permanent residents, crews, immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents of Kazakhstan, certain medical personnel, and foreign diplomats. Citizens of Kazakhstan are allowed to enter without restrictions, but are allowed to leave only to designated countries. A negative result on a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival to the border inspection checkpoint of Kazakhstan is required for all passengers travelling to Kazakhstan. Citizens of Kazakhstan arriving without proof of negative PCR test were subject to quarantine at a government-approved institution, foreign nationals were subject to same-day deportation. Kuwait: Effective 13 March 2020, Kuwait closed its borders to all non-residents. Laos: Closed its borders to all non-residents. All flights to Laos and visa applications were suspended. Malaysia: All citizens were prohibited from leaving the country while foreigners were prohibited from entering the country effective 18 March 2020. Malaysians were allowed to return to the country. Mongolia: Effective 12 March 2020, non-citizens were prohibited to enter. As of 21 August 2020, a total entry ban is in place. Myanmar: Closed its borders to all non-residents. All flights to Myanmar and visa applications were suspended. Also, due to Myanmar coup d'état, all flights to the country are cancelled. North Korea: Closed its borders to all international tourists on 21 January 2020, one of the first countries to do so. All air and train routes into and out of the country were temporarily suspended, and its border with mainland China was further tightened or closed. Palestine: Tourist ban of the West Bank from 5 March 2020. Philippines: Visa issuance and visa-free entry for all foreign nationals was temporarily suspended on 19 March 2020. As of 22 March, all foreign visitors were barred from entry, with exceptions for foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens, diplomatic officials, and workers for international organizations. Foreigners with long term visas will be allowed entry with restriction starting 1 August 2020. Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste had restricted the entry of all travelers except for nationals and residents of Timor-Leste. Turkmenistan: Starting 20 March 2020, the national border of Turkmenistan was restricted to foreign citizens and stateless persons. Vietnam: Effective 22 March 2020, entry of all foreigners was suspended. Visa applications were also suspended with a small number of exceptions for diplomats on official business. Yemen: On 17 March 2020, Yemen suspended all flights and closed land crossings.
Oceania Marshall Islands: Passengers were not allowed to enter Marshall Islands until 31 May 2021. New Caledonia: Passengers except parents of a French minor and spouses of a national of France were not allowed to enter New Caledonia. Fiji: Borders were closed to all non-citizens. French Polynesia: As of 3 February 2021, borders of French Polynesia were closed once again. Tuvalu: Tuvalu's borders were closed. Vanuatu: Vanuatu ports of entry were closed on 20 March 2020.
Non-global restrictions Just under a quarter of all countries (45) have implemented measures that affect citizens of, or recent travellers to, a particular country or set of countries. Many of these countries later expanded their restrictions, with some later implementing global restrictions.
Americas Aruba: As of 1 July 2020, Aruba has reopened borders for citizens of the Caribbean, Europe, United States and Canada. Guadeloupe: As of 1 July 2020, citizens of all nations are permitted to enter Guadeloupe for tourism with the exception of: USA, Brazil, India, Israel, Russia, and Turkmenistan. Peru: After a 7-month lockdown, Peru reopened its international borders on 5 October 2020 for tourism to Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Asia China: Foreign nationals can travel to China if they meet one of the following requirements: holding a valid Chinese residence permit for work, personal matters or reunion, holding Diplomatic, Service or Courtesy visa issued after 28 March 2020. All travelers must present two negative tests - PCR and antibody tests, taken within 48 hours of travel to obtain a green Health Code for boarding.