Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, more commonly referred to as Jokowi, called on Southeast Asian countries on Oct. 25 to speed up the establishment of a regional travel corridor.

Associated Press (AP) reported that he said the regional travel corridor would allow countries to revive their tourism industry and recover from the economic damage brought about by the pandemic.

He was speaking at a regional business forum ahead of the Asean summit happening from Oct. 26 to 28.

Jokowi added that as Covid-19 cases in Asean countries have been declining, tight border measures should be eased so that people can travel with fewer restrictions.

The regional travel corridor would include faster immigration lanes, recognition of vaccine certificates, and standardised health measures, AP reported.

"If all Asean countries immediately facilitate the safe mobility of people, the wheels of economy shall soon run again," Jokowi said as reported by AP.

AP added that intra-Asean travel accounts for 40 per cent of the travel in the region, which is an important component in reviving the region's tourism sector.

Jokowi also shared that in the past week, Covid-19 cases in Asean fell by 14 per cent, far exceeding the global average of 1 per cent.

Southeast Asian countries starting to open up

Several countries in Southeast Asia are lifting their tight border measures in hopes of reviving their tourism industry.

For instance, from Nov. 1, visitors from 46 countries and regions can travel to several popular locations in Thailand without serving quarantine.

According to Reuters, Indonesia has also reopened Bali to visitors and hopes to admit international flights by late October, the island's governor, Wayan Koster said.

Jokowi added that the Indonesian government plans to gradually open up other areas in the country where more than 70 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.

But vaccination rates across Asean countries vary.

Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia have the highest vaccination rates with over 70 per cent of their population inoculated, while Myanmar, hit by civil and political strife the last few years has so far registered less than 10 per cent vaccination rate.

Indonesia so far has fully vaccinated about a third of its people.

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top image via Presiden Joko Widodo/Facebook