Fiji to reopen to fully vaccinated tourists from 15 countries on December 1st after nearly two years of closure, according to a note from the country’s national tourism agency.
Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, UAE, Qatar, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and most Pacific islands will be welcome as part of the Travel Partner Country program.
“In these two years, we struggled, we adapted and prepared. Today, our national airline is ready, our hotels and tourism providers are ready and Fijians are ready to welcome the world back safely,” said the Fiji Minister of Tourism.
Despite extensive preparations, some sites will be designated as “no-go zones”, meaning tourists will be denied entry due to low vaccination rates and other epidemiological considerations.
In fact, the country fully vaccinated more than 80% of eligible adults. But still want to be cautious.
“We count on the full cooperation of our tourism industry to ensure that when our borders open, they remain open,” added the minister.
For now, permitted areas will include all outer islands, the entire Coral Coast, Taveuni, Kadavu and all of the North.
Requirements
As part of the “Fiji Islands Care Commitment”, the country has established a series of WHO-approved standards health protocols to be followed by visitors and nationals.
To begin with, travelers must be nationals of one of the Travel Partner’s countries and have received only Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccines. However, unvaccinated children traveling with vaccinated adults will be allowed entry.
Upon entry, arrivals must provide a negative PCR-RT result performed no later than 72 hours prior to departure to Fiji.
Once at the hotel, a mandatory Covid-19 rapid test must be taken 48 hours after arrival. Hotels were granted permission to administer quick tests on site.
The cost, which must be covered by the visitor, is $166 per RT-PCR test and $16 per antigen (fast). The government equipped clinics in Nadi and Suva for RT-PCR testing and gave hotels permission to provide rapid testing.
CareFiji App
Authorities created careFIJI, a mobile software application to help the Ministry of Health and Medical Services combat the coronavirus, as well as ensure safe reopening through contact tracking.
It can be downloaded from Google App Store.