Our lives were normal before COVID-19 hits. We were carefree, we explore the world and its wonders, and we constantly spend our time under the bright blue sky.

And then, this big 'ol virus with an equally unique name that trends overnight, came knocking like nobody's business. The world was put at a standstill. The replay of Resident Evil, 28 Weeks Later, and other "virus-killing-the-people" movies we've watched and scoff at the thought that it will never happen in real life - is now happening.

Countries were forced to put their people into lockdown, frontliners were forced to sacrifice themselves to save complete strangers, the economy was forced to accept the downfall of their revenues, and our travel industry was forced to kill the dreams of millions of people to travel the world. We are scrambling to find the best way to keep our physical and mental health in check throughout this unexpected ordeal.

Tourism is one of the major industries in Singapore and one of the biggest contributors to Singapore's economy. The Singapore Tourism Board with Visa as of Q1 2020, discussed in their survey that approximately 19.1 million visitors visited this country in 2019 alone. After the pandemic in 2020, it gave a huge slap on the tourism sector. International visitors’ arrival fell by 76% - that's huge. People are losing business left and right.

In order to keep our economy afloat and maintain the survival of tourism, the Government of Singapore convenes a probable solution. A solution that could help resuscitate the travel industry and the people's needs to see the world safely.

This is where Travel Bubble was birthed into this world. Travel Bubble is defined as an exclusive partnership between several countries to open their borders, allowing the people to travel freely within the zone without having to undergo on-arrival quarantine.

Singapore Travel Bubble began its preparation back in 2020 and due to unpredictable cases between us and the countries our government selected, the execution was postponed several times, but we are not giving up hope that we will be able to travel again safely.

The Government of Singapore has agreed to open its border to several countries from the European Union and Southeast Asia. The countries selected by the Government of Singapore are based on the success rate of those countries to contain the rise of COVID-19 cases (before all hell breaks loose and COVID-19's second/third wave j-chillin' its way in).

As of May 2021, due to the Circuit Breaker Phase 2, Singapore is putting the Air Travel Bubble partnership on hold until further notice.

The countries involved with the Singapore Travel Bubble (once Circuit Breaker is lifted) including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mainland of China, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

The travel bubble is vital to our country's economic and travel industry survival. Not to mention, our people have families in other countries, traveling is as important to us as living. Singapore Travel Bubble can be considered as the next best solution to sustain the survival of the travel industry during the pandemic.

We have suffered great loss, not just the lives of our own people - our families, but local businesses as well. The livelihood of our people was taken from us. The travel bubble is a glimmer of hope to help our small businesses get back on their feet; reunite the families that were separated due to lockdown restrictions and provide opportunities to grow their careers here in Singapore.

Through Singapore Travel Bubble, people are hopeful to travel abroad again. There is hope and we should not let that hope die. However, we have to accept the fact that things will never be the same. Travel bubble is the new normal in traveling. New travel regulations and requirements that we need to accept and follow. It's not ideal, but it is for the safety of everyone. We need to normalize health precautions and social distancing the moment we stepped outside.

Traveloka as a Lifestyle SuperApp is not excluded from the impact of COVID-19. However, we promised our customers to be the answer to their travel needs. This is why we gather our heads together to improve our platforms - our flight booking features, in order to fulfill your travel dreams.

Keep following our journey because the travel bubble will soon be reinstated and Traveloka will be ready to take you to your destination. Until then, stay safe, everyone!