(Nadi) Dancers in traditional dress greeted foreign holidaymakers arriving in Fiji on Wednesday, the first day of the reopening of the borders of this South Pacific archipelago.
A Fiji Airways flight from Sydney landed in the late morning at Nadi Airport on the main island of Viti Levu, ending 615 days of international isolation.
Vacationers, some with surfboards under their arms, were greeted with “bula” (hello) and native songs.
“Since we know there is a first flight, we decided to come here,” testified an Australian couple.
PHOTO LEON LORD, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Dancers in traditional attire greeted foreign holidaymakers arriving in Fiji on Wednesday.
Fiji Airways chief executive Andre Viljoen said it was a “momentous” event after 20 difficult months for the archipelago, where tourism accounts for around 40% of the economy.
“The reopening of international borders will revive the economy of Fiji,” he told reporters.
Mr. Viljoen said health restrictions remain in place to limit COVID-19 contamination and that the appearance of the Omicron variant has not deterred travelers.
“The incoming flights are full,” he said.
Fiji has tightened restrictions on arrivals from southern Africa, but has not changed the rules for “partner” countries whose citizens can afford a tropical getaway to this Pacific paradise.
These are New Zealand and the United States, but also countries where the Omicron variant has been officially detected such as Japan, France, Australia, Canada and Great Britain.
Fiji Tourism Board General Manager Brent Hill said resorts on the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu are preparing for an influx of foreign travelers.
PHOTO BRUCE ROUNDS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vacationers were greeted with “bula” (hello) and native songs.
“We have registered around 75,000 bookings for the next two months, which is remarkable,” he said.
“We know it’s only just getting started and we can’t wait to see more tourists arrive in 2022.”
Foreign visitors will need to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 before their departure. Once in Fiji, they will stay in specific areas where all their contacts will be fully immunized.
The archipelago successfully wiped out COVID-19 for 12 months before a devastating second wave of the Delta variant caused nearly 700 deaths in the country of one million people.
But contaminations have dropped and the vaccination rate exceeds 90%.