Great news for foreign tourists flying to Queensland as the state has waived quarantine for fully vaccinated international travellers.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced that fully vaccinated international travellers will be allowed into Queensland without quarantine starting January 22.

“I know a lot of people have sons and daughters overseas or parents or brothers and sisters overseas. You can come into Queensland and you will no longer have to do, if you are vaccinated, quarantine. You are free to come in,” she said.

Rather than having to quarantine, fully vaccinated arrivals will be required to have a RAT within 24 hours of arrival. Unvaccinated international travellers who have Commonwealth approval to enter Australia will be required to quarantine for 14 days in a QLD Government nominated facility.

The decision was announced after the state recorded 19,932 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 11 deaths overnight.

The latest policy was welcomed by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents. “The Queensland Government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated international arrivals to enter the state without having to quarantine but instead take a RAT within 24 hours of arrival is a very welcome step toward travel returning to normal,” AFTA CEO Dean Long said.

“The return to more normal international travel conditions for vaccinated international arrivals into Queensland brings another important tourism market back on line globally. We thank Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Tourism, Stirling Hinchcliffe for providing a firm date for this which AFTA has been seeking for some time. This also provides an incentive for Queenslanders who have not been fully vaccinated to get the jab and move to a living with COVID mindset which includes holidaying domestically and internationally,” he added.