Scott Morrison says the wait for Australia’s tourism industry is over with international borders opening up and tourists returning.

Vaccinated international tourists will be able to fly into Australia from Monday for the first time in two years after being locked out because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are going from COVID cautious to COVID confident when it comes to travel,” the prime minister told reporters at Melbourne airport on Sunday.

He said there are 1.2 million people around the world who are “visaed-up” and can now come to Australia.

“In the next 24 hours some 56 flights are going to touch down in Australia and that number is only going to grow,” Mr Morrison said

“My message to tourists all around the world is: ‘Pack you bags and come and have one the great experiences you could ever imagine. And don”t forget to bring your money with you because you will find plenty of places to spend it’.”

Business is also welcoming the reopening of borders.

“The reopening reinforces Australia’s credentials as an open economy and will allow companies with international interests to more easily conduct business,” HSBC head of commercial banking Steve Hughes said.

“In particular, we expect that mid-sized firms which have reached the limits of their domestic growth will have renewed confidence to consider offshore expansion.”

Victoria is opening its newly-built $200 million quarantine hub on Monday for those international travellers that are not vaccinated.

“The Omicron variant has shown us we must continue to be flexible in our pandemic response – and the purpose-built Victorian Quarantine Hub will be vital to how we manage pandemics today and into the future,” Police Minister Lisa Neville said on Saturday.

Queensland has its own purpose built 500-bed quarantine centre near Toowoomba, which is likely to house unvaccinated international arrivals.

Meanwhile, Australia’s death toll from the COVID-19 Omicron variant continues to climb. 

There were 21 deaths reported in NSW, alongside 5582 new COVID-19 infections announced on Sunday.

Of the 21 deaths, three were not vaccinated, eight had received two jabs and ten had received three doses.

In Victoria there were 4867 cases along with a further nine-virus related deaths, while Queensland reported 4265 cases and another two deaths.

The ACT reported 560 new cases.

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