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Bubbles. Living in them. Working in them. Socialising in them. Travelling in them. Is our future one of hermetically sealed environments? One where the needs of the lucky few are met by an on-demand workforce that never goes home?

Hosts: Matt Armitage & Jeff Sandhu

Produced: Jeff Sandhu for BFM89.9

EPISODE EXCERPT

Usually, when we talk about Bubbles in a business or economic context, there’s usually a negative association. But more recently - from tourism, to sporting events to business - bubbles have taken on a more positive meaning. Here to explain is someone who’s spent most of his life in a bubble, MSP’s Matt Armitage. 

Won’t be the first time you’ve been blowing bubbles on this show…

• I’ll take that to mean you think I’m blowing little bubbles of insight and ingenuity. 

Sure. If that’s what your bubble tells you I mean…

• Hmm. I’m inoculated from negativity today. 
• Your thoughts are but unformed soap suds.
• And simply slide over me.
• But yes, you’re right. When we talk about bubbles it’s often in a negative sense. 
• We talk about them in the sense of speculative markets and economic booms that have outpaced any rational measure of their expansion. 
• And we use the term bubble because it’s something that’s seen as fragile.
• It’s something that we expect to burst imminently. 
• But now we’re reframing the idea of bubbles as something that protects rather than isolates us from reality.
• And we’re seeing that idea being applied to multiple sectors of society as a way to restart economies, give people more freedom of movement and to kick start leisure activities. 

The travel bubble is one that has had a lot of press…

• Yes. There have been a few of these mooted.
• And they’ve thrown some really strange collections of countries together.
• The idea is that countries with low rates of coronavirus cases can form travel corridors with each other.
• In some instances this reopens completely closed borders, or removes those travellers from very onerous travel conditions, like quarantines at both ends. 

Are there any in operation or are they still all being discussed?

• China started a corridor with South Korea in May.
• Singapore launched one about two weeks ago between it and six provinces in China, including Shanghai and Guandong. 
• And it’s currently negotiating to establish corridors with Canada and South Korea.
• New Zealand is set to establish a corridor with Australia any time now.
• The Pacific islands are also lobbying to join the NZ-Aus corridor. 
• We’re seeing business organisations around the world pushing to at least start what companies see as essential business travel. 
• But we’re also seeing increasing pressure to set up these bubbles to facilitate international tourism as well.