US, Russia, Maldives In Race To Start COVID Vaccine Tourism

COVID vaccine tourism- who can avail it? A Dubai-based travel agency Arabian Nights Tours has been swamped with calls enquiring about the "23-night vaccine tourism package" from Delhi to Moscow after a draft flyer for the same was leaked on social media. The package reportedly costs Rs. 1.3 lakh promised 20 days of sightseeing across Russia in between the two jabs of the Sputnik-V vaccine.

The package, however, disappeared from the Arabian Nights Tours soon after it went viral. Ankit Jain, who is the executive of the travel company spoke to The Print and said that the package is not yet launched.

"We drafted the flyer but it got leaked from our marketing team," said Jain.

What is Vaccine Tourism?

The term "vaccine tourism" came into light last year where several tour operators reportedly offered travel packages to the US providing additional benefits other than the jabs of the vaccine. This kind of tourism has emerged as the new travel trend, which provides the tourist both a vaccine jab and a luxury holiday in one.

Instances of travelling abroad for medical reasons are often seen, and countries like India and Thailand are one of the most common destinations for medical or cosmetic surgery. The pandemic, however, has given birth to this new kind of tourism in which many European tour companies are offering vaccine trips to countries like Russia.

Travel to countries for COVID vaccine

According to The Guardian, San Marino, a tiny republic in Central Europe welcomed its first vaccine tourists last week, which included a group of four people from Latvia. The group drove in a camper van for 26 hours and became the first visitors to take the benefit of the country's microstate’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine holiday package.

The vaccine is being given to non-residents who book their accommodation in one of the state's affiliated hotels.

According to The Indiand Express, countries like Russia and Maldives are already working to offer such programmes that offer people abroad to get vaccinated while travelling to the country, and similar programmes are said to be emerging in the US too.

While these programmes have not yet been started, people are already flying to other countries to get vaccinated. People from South Africa are reportedly flying to Zimbabwe to get their jab of the vaccine, while Canadians and South Americans are travelling to the US for the same. Tour companies in Europe are also offering trips to Russia for Sputnik V vaccine shots.

Is it possible for Indians to travel for the vaccine?

According to Subhash Goyal, who is a senior member of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), it is not currently possible for Indians to take advantage of vaccine tourism as most of the countries have banned travellers from India due to the huge rise in cases in the second wave of the pandemic.

Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel talked to The Indian Express and said that all eligible candidates for the vaccine will be given their shot in the country by the end of this year, hence there is no need for anyone to go abroad for the same.

What is Vaccine Passport?

Vaccine passport is a regulated practice that is gaining currency around the world; this is often confused with vaccine tourism. It is documentation that proves that one has been vaccinated against the COVID-19 making it easy for people to travel overseas. Some versions of the passport also show that the person has been tested negative for the virus.

Many airlines, industry groups, nonprofit and technology companies are working on these passports which people will be able to access through their phones as an app or a part f their digital wallet.

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