South Australia could be the first state to open to visitors after recording its twelfth consecutive day of no new coronavirus cases.

The news follows on the heels of local councils reopening playgrounds and skate parks in a bid to slowly ease social distancing measures. Easing funeral restrictions is also high on the agenda for the government, according to Premier Steven Marshall.

The move hopes to reboot the local economy, which took a serious hit over the summer when bushfires ravaged popular destinations like the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island, leaving little time for recovery between the end of the fire season and when the coronavirus outbreak occurred.

Tourism reportedly contributes over $8 billion to the state each year, and employs almost 40,000 people.

“When it’s safe to do so, that will be one of our priority areas,” Steven Marshall said of opening the regional borders, adding that the state had done “particularly well” in its fight against coronavirus.

Currently, South Australia’s coronavirus cases stand at 438, with 98 per cent of those recovered.

In other parts of the world, health ‘passports’ are being considered to help ensure tourists are virus-free once borders are reopened to travellers. The travel document would work alongside passports in helping to ensure tourists aren’t taking the virus with them across borders.

Italy’s popular island destination of Sardinia is one such region keen to introduce travel passports after coronavirus devastated the local tourism industry. Tourists would also need their temperature checked before entering the Mediterranean island, famous for its idyllic sandy beaches.

“I am sure that it will work fine: we will preserve health and save our economy at the same time,” Sardinia’s governor, Christian Solinas, told Arab News.

“Now everything has to be done to boost tourism. It is the biggest source of income for Sardinia.”

Italy has been one of the hardest hit countries by coronavirus, and attributes roughly 15 per cent of its gross domestic product from tourism. Capri, Ischia and Puglia are among the other Italian island destinations looking to introduce travel passports in hopes of reigniting travel.

Greece, Spain’s Balearic Islands, and Chile are also open to the idea of a health travel document giving tourists the green light to enter, and getting people back to work, in hopes of bolstering the economy.

Locally, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out international travel for Aussies happening “anytime soon,” claiming “the risks there are obvious”.

But the government is exploring a trans-Tasman “bubble” with New Zealand, allowing travel between the two countries if coronavirus numbers continue to remain low.

Whether health passports are introduced or not, some experts are tipping that travel will look very different in a post coronavirus world, with airport health screenings likely to add hours to commute times.

Andrew Charlton, managing director of the consultancy Aviation Advocacy, told The Times UK that there will likely “be fewer flights, fewer seats available, prices will go up and there will be very uncomfortable conditions because of the demands to wear personal protective equipment and maintain social distancing.

“Whereas we used to be able to turn up at the airport an hour or two before departure, we could see something as horrible as four hours as health checks are added to the usual palaver of check-in, security and immigration.”