For the first time in just over 700 days non citizens, non residents and non special visa holders can now plan a trip to Australia with confidence the door won't be slammed in their face on arrival due to another lockdown or outbreak.

And, while much attention has been given to what this means for tourism and hospitality, it was obvious that probably a majority of the people on the first flights back had deeply heartfelt reasons to be here.

While the decision to raise the drawbridge in March 2020 was necessary to protect Australia from COVID outbreaks - and hospitalisations and fatalities on the same scale as in the USA, the UK and Europe - the truth is some people paid a disproportionately high price.

Australia is a nation of immigrants. Almost 30 per cent of us were born overseas. That is about 7.5 million people. These are the Australians who have been cut off from their loved ones for just under two years.

On Monday husbands and wives were reunited, mothers hugged sons they hadn't seen for what seemed like an eternity, grandparents met toddlers whose pictures they had only ever seen on a screen and, sadly, there would have been those coming to pay their respects to family members who had died.

This is a highly emotionally charged moment which needs to be recognised as such and to be celebrated. It is also a triumph for all who have put up with two years of lockdowns and restrictions, and done the right thing by getting vaccinated, getting vaccinated again, and now being boosted as well.

This couldn't have happened without just about all of us.

The other reason this needs to be celebrated is that it is the first clear signal 2022 will hopefully not look like a replay of 2020 and 2021. While it has been a long and tedious summer the situation is improving. Schools have returned with no dramatically adverse consequences or widespread closures. The RAT shortage has eased, and case numbers, deaths, and hospitalisations have fallen significantly.

The latest unemployment figures were better than expected and there are clear signs the economy is set to rebound strongly moving into autumn; even in the beleaguered tourism sector.

While there are fears that because of, amongst other reasons, China's restrictions on travel to Australia that it could take until mid-2024 for visitor numbers to return to their pre-COVID highs, that is not necessarily the case.

Much of the world has been in lockdown for almost 24 months and, even in countries where international travel has been permitted, people were reluctant to go abroad for fear of being stranded by unanticipated border closures. There is a huge pent-up demand for international travel.

And, while some pundits are fearful that other countries may have "cut Australia's lunch" because we have been out of the market for so long, they run the risk of underselling what we have.

Australia is a unique destination with wide open spaces, pristine beaches, and ancient landscapes that are the envy of the world. Canberra is a cosmopolitan and unique city that could not be more different to the teeming megalopolises from which many international travellers are seeking a brief escape.

Every effort should be made to see a resumption of international flights into Canberra and to trumpet our virtues to the world.

Every crisis brings its own opportunities. Let's not waste this one. It's time to diversify into alternative visitor markets and to bounce back even better than before.

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