Can’t get a vaccine in Asia? Tourism firms are running ‘vac-cations’ to the US or Russia – but the costs are high

Name: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?
Uploaded: 2021-05-24T13:00:17.000Z
Duration: 6 min 18 s
Description: SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

It’s not just the thousands of dollars to be paid upfront – those who can afford such tours face few guarantees, and could even have trouble returning home

Travel agent associations in India, Thailand and Vietnam are warning the public about these hidden costs as advertisements pop up on social media

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Buddhist monks in Bangkok, Thailand, get a shot of the Sinovac vaccine. Photo: EPA

BloombergandSen Nguyen

Published: 9:00pm, 24 May 2021Updated: 11:11pm, 24 May 2021

Travel agent associations in India and Thailand – which are battling surges in Covid-19 infections of varying degrees – as well as the tourism department of Vietnam have warned the public against operators advertising overseas tours to get vaccinated, saying there can be hidden costs.

Advertisements for vaccine tours, mainly to the United States, have popped up on social media in India, despite restrictions that make international travel almost impossible. In Thailand and Vietnam, too, there are an increasing number of tour packages offering the chance to join a vaccination queue abroad.

“It’s not illegal to go to the US, travelling is absolutely your option,” said Jyoti Mayal, president of the Travel Agents Association of India. “As an association, our advice is check out the credibility of the agent, check out all the documents and then move forward.”

Mumbai-based Gem Tours & Travels took the names of 5,000 people interested in a three-day stay in New York for a first vaccination and another trip several weeks later for a second shot, with each journey costing about 150,000 rupees (US$2,000).

Another operator, Dubai-based Arabian Nights Tours, is advertising “a trip to vaccination and happiness” in Russia. Starting from US$1,780, the tour includes return air tickets from New Delhi to Moscow, 24 nights accommodation in St Petersburg and the capital, and two doses of the Sputnik vaccine.

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SCMP Explains: What’s in a Covid-19 vaccine?

In Thailand, too, there have been advertisements for vaccine tours to the US and Russia. One Bangkok operator is offering trips ranging from US$2,400 to US$6,400 to San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, with prices dependent on the time gap between doses and the brand of vaccine. Johnson & Johnson’s is just one jab, and so would therefore require a shorter stay. Another agency owner was reported as saying he had received hundreds of inquiries, but 80 per cent of people did not have a US visa.