Fiji will reopen to fully vaccinated tourists from 15 countries on December 1 after nearly two years of closure, as per a statement from the country’s national tourism body.
Citizens from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., the UK, UAE, Qatar, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and most Pacific Island will be welcomed back as part of the Travel Partner Country scheme.
“In these two years, we’ve struggled, we’ve adapted, and we’ve prepared. Today, our national airline is ready, our hotels and tour providers are ready, and Fijians are ready to safely welcome the world back,” said Fiji’s Minister of Tourism.
Despite the extensive preparations, some sites will be designated as “no-go zones,” meaning tourists will be denied entrance owing to low vaccination rates and other epidemiology considerations.
The country has indeed fully vaccinated more than 80% of eligible adults. But it still wants to be cautious.
“We’re counting on the full cooperation of our tourism industry to ensure that when our borders do open, they stay open,” the minister added.
For now, the allowed areas will include all of the outer islands, the entire Coral Coast, Taveuni, Kadavu, and all of the North.
Requirements
As part of the “Care Fiji Commitment,” the country has established a number of WHO-approved health protocols to be followed by both visitors and nationals.
To begin, travelers must be nationals of one of the Travel Partner countries and have only received Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, or Moderna vaccines. Although, unvaccinated children traveling with vaccinated adults will be permitted entry.
At the entrance, arrivals will be required to present a negative PCR-RT result conducted no longer than 72-hours of departure to Fiji.
Once in the hotel, a mandatory rapid Covid-19 test should be taken between 48 hours of arrival. Hotels got permission to administer rapid tests on-site.
The cost, which must be covered by the visitor, is $166 per RT-PCR test and $16 per antigen (rapid). The government equipped clinics in Nadi and Suva for RT-PCR tests and give permission to hotels to provide rapid ones.
CareFiji App
Authorities created careFIJI, a mobile software application to help the Ministry of Health and Medical Services fighting the coronavirus as well as ensuring a safe reopening through contact tracing.
It can be downloaded from Google Play Store.