Vanuatu to begin quarantine-free travel from July 1
April 30, 2022 12:39 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
The Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) is excited to announce that Vanuatu will open its borders to fully-vaccinated international travellers from 1 July, 2022 with no quarantine or arrival caps, with agents able to book their clients on flights to Port Vila with the country’s national carrier, Air Vanuatu.
“This is fantastic news for the local tourism industry and future international travellers,” said VTO’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Adela Issachar Aru.
“We’ve kept Vanuatu beautiful, and we’re thrilled to be welcoming travellers back to our shores come July.
“We’ll be using the next two months to help ready our tourism operators and are working closely with the Ministry of Health, the Department of Tourism and other relevant stakeholders to ensure our people and visitors will be safe when they do travel.
“We’re inviting our Australians, Kiwis and New Caledonian consumers to Answer the Call of Vanuatu once again.”
Air Vanuatu CEO, Atu Finau, has reaffirmed the national airline’s commitment to provide the much vital connectivity between Vanuatu and its regional network.
“It’s exciting to finally be able to welcome our customers back onboard again, after the temporary suspension of our international passenger flights in March 2020,” he said. “We have released our international schedule to commence in July, and we are confident that we can increase flight frequencies and capacity as demand grows.
“The pent-up demand since 2020 provides us the assurance that Vanuatu remains one of the top destinations to travel to as soon border restrictions are eased.”
Airports Vanuatu Ltd (AVL) CEO, Jason Rakau, also commented on the welcoming news.
“We would like to congratulate both Air Vanuatu and the VTO for working around the clock with us on our national tourism and aviation recovery plans,” he said.
“2022, what a year, finally! AVL shares the same enthusiasm and our team have been working tirelessly to ensure our airports infrastructure are up to standard with all COVID-travel requirements and customer experience.”
The country will still have some entry requirements in place to ensure that both visitors and locals alike are kept safe when travelling within its islands.
These requirements will include being fully vaccinated, pre-departure tests and undertaking a health clearance ahead of departure, as well as arrival testing.
The local industry is currently preparing for the arrival of international travellers by refreshing and finalising new product, liaising with Australian and New Zealand wholesalers to showcase their products, re-hiring staff and ensuring their hotels and restaurants comply with the Safe Business Operation (SBO) guidelines, a programme which covers trainings and audit checks to ensure enhanced cleaning, personal hygiene, and protection measures are in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re so excited to be welcoming our international travellers back to Mangoes Resort,” Michelle Clements, Managing Director of Mangoes Resort and Restaurant in Port Vila said.
“We’ve spent the last two years working tirelessly to update and refresh the resort and we can’t wait to show the beauty of Vanuatu once again.”
Flights are available to book from today, with Air Vanuatu resuming its services with six non-stop flights from Sydney, one direct service a week from Melbourne, and three non-stop flights a week from Brisbane to Port Vila, two weekly services from Auckland and three services a week from Noumea, with onward connections to 27 destinations within Vanuatu.
The VTO will keep consumers updated with key milestones and updates to the border reopening.
