Vanuatu will begin quarantine-free travel, opening its borders from 1 July, 2022 to fully-vaccinated international travellers. With no quarantine or arrival caps, agents are now able to book their clients on flights to Port Vila with the country’s national carrier, Air Vanuatu.
The Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Adela Issachar Aru, said it is fantastic news for the local tourism industry and future international travellers.
“We’ve kept Vanuatu beautiful, and we’re thrilled to be welcoming travellers back to our shores come July,” Issachar Aru said.
“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 Australians to Answer the Call of Vanuatu once again,” Issachar Aru added.
The Air Vanuatu Chief Executive Officer, Mr Atu Finau, has reaffirmed the national airline’s commitment to providing the much vital connectivity between Vanuatu and its regional network.
“It’s exciting to finally be able to welcome our customers back on board again, after the temporary suspension of our international passenger flights in March 2020. We’ve 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 with the assurance that Vanuatu remains one of the top destinations to travel to as soon border restrictions are eased.”
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.
Meanwhile, the local industry is currently preparing for the arrival of international travellers by refreshing and finalising new product, liaising with Australian wholesalers to showcase their products, re-hiring staff and ensuring their hotels and restaurants comply with the Safe Business Operations (SBO) guidelines, a programme which covers training and audit checks to ensure enhanced cleaning, personal hygiene, and protection measures are in place to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Mangoes Resort & Restaurant Managing Director, Michelle Clements, said “We’re so excited to be welcoming Australians back to Mangoes Resort. We’ve spent the last two years working tirelessly to update and refresh the resort and we can’t wait to show Australians the beauty of Vanuatu once again.”
Flights are available to book now, with Air Vanuatu resuming its services with five non-stop flights from Sydney, one direct service a week from Melbourne, and three non-stop flights a week from Brisbane to Port Vila, with onward connections to 27 destinations within Vanuatu. For more information on the reopening flight schedule, please visit www.airvanuatu.com
View the Vanuatu Tourism Office Covid-19 information page here.
The Vanuatu Tourism Office will keep consumers updated with key milestones and updates to the border reopening. For more information on Vanuatu, visit: www.vanuatu.travel/au/
