Diplomatic allies Taiwan and Palau begin coronavirus travel bubble

Taiwan and Palau launched a rare holiday travel bubble on Thursday as the two diplomatic allies try to kickstart their battered tourist industries after successfully keeping infections at bay. Around 100 excited Taiwanese tourists arrived at Taoyuan international airport near Taipei on Thursday morning, checking in five hours before their afternoon flight in order to be tested for the coronavirus. The inaugural holiday flight took off around 2:45pm (0645 GMT) according to Taiwan's China Airlines. Governments across Asia-Pacific have struggled to launch reciprocal travel corridors aimed at holidaymakers. A long awaited bubble between Australia and New Zealand is still in the works. And a bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong had to be scrapped late last year after the latter witnessed a sudden spike in infections. India maintains travel corridors with more than two dozen countries but there are different restrictions and the agreements are mainly aimed at stranded nationals and those with business visas.<br/>