Friday, September 17, 2021
As per official reports, Fiji Islands is planning to reopen for tourists by the end of the year. The country can also possibly pre-pone the reopening due its successful vaccination program. However, in order to have a successful reopening, businesses, locals and visitors will need to follow guidelines laid out by the country’s Care Fiji Plan.
In support of the Fiji government’s COVID-19 initiatives, the Fijian tourism industry has adopted the Care Fiji Commitment. The WHO-approved destination-wide program ensures that health and safety measures designed to align the industry to safe travel norms in a post-pandemic world is executed in proper terms. Tourism operators are working on 100% vaccination of all eligible staff and once achieved will display the CFC 100% vaccination stamp.
Read on to know some of the quarantine rules and travel restrictions in Fiji Islands:
Fiji Islands is currently closed with travel restrictions in place. However, repatriation flights for Fijian residents are active but no international tourist or business flights are allowed into the country.
Visitors can enter the country under special circumstances with the Luxury Vacation in Paradise program for private island buyouts as well as the Blue Lane program for private yachts and superyachts.
However, the situation is soon likely to change due to successful vaccination. Many resorts, hotels and tourists now have fully vaccinated staff. Half the country’s population has also reportedly been vaccinated so far.
Travelers will need to download the Care Fiji app in their phones ahead of arriving in the country. They will be able to use the app to book hotels and resorts in line with the program.
Fully vaccinated travellers from ‘green list’ countries will have to ensure that they have registered a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours of their departure to Fiji. The pre-departure approval could be obtained online, as per the prime minister.
The exclusive green list countries are those with similar high rates of vaccination to Fiji and low test positivity rates. The list includes New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore, and parts of the United States.
The PM also mentioned that Fiji Islands would be in a better place to open quarantine-free travel with countries that had helped send Covid-19 vaccines to Fiji once the country achieves it vaccination target.
He mentioned that the country will establish mutually recognized vaccine protocol agreements with the governments, which essentially shows that Fiji is comfortable with their levels of vaccine coverage. We said that the country will also rely on the vaccine status of their travellers and, vice versa, so that Fijians can prove their vaccine status when travelling abroad.
Bainimarama said visitors can be assured that everybody they interacted with in Fiji would be fully vaccinated from their fellow hotel guests and staff to the tour operators. He also said visitors would vacation in designated travel-safe areas for five days and will have to clear another Covid-19 test before they could travel throughout the country.
The prime minister said protocols for quarantine centres would remain for visitors who were not vaccinated or who were not travelling to Fiji from a green list country.
Following the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic in March 2020, Fiji made health and safety its top priority. It was the first country in the Pacific to access COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, and through bilateral partnerships has procured enough vaccines to vaccinate all eligible adults 18yrs old and above. Its robust vaccination program is being largely supported by the tourism industry.
Tags: Covid-19, fiji, Fiji island, Tourism
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