Context

In order to put economies back on track post-COVID lockdown, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania started ‘travel bubble’.

About

• Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states that have shown a good level of success in containing the novel coronavirus pandemic domestically.
• The notion is simple: Two or more countries that have successfully curtailed COVID-19 agree to create a bubble. People who live inside the bubble could then travel freely and avoid a mandatory self-quarantine requirement.
• Potential travel bubbles among better-performing countries around the world would account for around 35 percent of the global GDP.
• Such arrangements are especially being favoured by smaller countries, who are likely to benefit after being able to trade again with larger partners.
  
  

Baltic states The Baltic States are three countries west of European Russia, south of the Gulf of Finland, and north of Poland and Belarus. All three countries have a coastline at the Baltic Sea. From north to south the countries are Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, they occupy a low-lying region known as the Baltic Plains, a portion of the vast European Plain, the largest landform in Europe without mountains. During the Pleistocene epoch (Ice Age), continental sized ice sheets scoured and abraded the plain's surface, eroded mountains to their bases and rendered the whole landscape flat.

Is it a good idea?

• With the  pandemicthrowing both international and domestic trade and travel out of gear since earlier this year, such ‘travel bubbles’ are now being recommended to keep at least parts of the global economy afloat.
• Potential travel bubbles among better-performing countries around the world would account for around 35 per cent of the global GDP.
• Such arrangements are especially being favoured by smaller countries, who are likely to benefit after being able to trade again with larger partners.

Significance of the move:

• Such a move would cut red tape so people can cross borders with minimum hassle.
• It would allow the members of the group to rekindle trade ties with each other, and kickstart sectors such as travel and tourism.