Asia tightens border controls, casting a cloud over COVID-affected travel.

Countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia have chosen a middle path, in which travel is still severely restricted.

Even as vaccination rates peak, Asia-Pacific countries maintain strict border controls, dampening prospects for a revival of the region's pandemic-ravaged travel industry.

While mainland China and Hong Kong further isolate themselves under a strict "zero COVID" policy that requires weeks of hotel quarantine, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia take a middle path in which non-essential travel is strictly restricted.

The region's cautious stance contrasts sharply with that of Europe and North America, where vaccinated travelers, including tourists, can travel freely with few restrictions aside from a negative COVID test result.

"Some of this can be explained by the need to catch up on vaccination rates, but not all of it." Even countries with high vaccination rates... are taking longer to open their international borders than they are to ease domestic mobility restrictions. When they do, they impose far more requirements and protocols than are required for domestic movement."

Despite easing restrictions for certain arrivals such as business travelers and students, Japan and South Korea have yet to announce a date for the resumption of tourism.

Australia, where roughly 70% of the population is immunized twice, has indicated that international tourists will not return until next year.

Malaysia, where 77 percent of residents are double-jabbed, remains largely closed to international visitors, with plans to open up to international visitors in January.

Singapore, where more than 80% of the population has received two doses of vaccine, has resumed quarantine-free travel in stages through a vaccinated travel lane scheme, which will include 21 countries beginning next month.

According to Capital Economics, arrivals to most of Asia were down 99 percent from pre-pandemic levels in September, compared to declines of only 20 percent in Mexico and about 65 percent in Southern Europe.

According to the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019, prior to the pandemic, the Asia-Pacific welcomed approximately 291 million tourists annually, contributing $875 billion to the economy.