The Tourism Australia campaign will run in Western markets including Germany, France, Italy, and Canada as well as the USA and UK. The ad splices together much of the customary promotional vision which has been used time and again by the authority, including the Great Barrier Reef, Central Australia, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the 12 Apostles on Victoria's south coast.

The existing Come and Say G'Day - Australia is Yours to Explore, which launched in Singapore ahead of its reopening, will be rolled out in markets in Asia such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Greater China as travel reopens from February 21.

Australia closed its international borders to visitors back on March 20 2020, with exemptions only for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family, including spouses, legal guardians and dependants.

"We also strongly urge Australians looking to return home to do so as soon as possible," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the time.

As the Delta wave of COVID-19 eased, the restrictions were adjusted to include "fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family, as well as fully vaccinated green lane travellers from New Zealand and Singapore and limited exemptions".

In November last year there was a consideration of cautiously reopening to Japan and South Korea but then the Omicron wave of the virus arrived, and this action was "paused" on November 29 as knowledge of the new highly contagious variant became better understood.

As part of the February 21 reopening, the Prime Minister announced on Sunday that the Commonwealth will also be lifting the biosecurity provisions that relate to cruise ships and that "the states will ultimately take their own decisions about when they go to that next stage [of allowing them back in their ports]".