We are ready to welcome people back to our shores and we are entirely confident in our ability to manage the risk associated with quarantine-free travel.
This was the reassurance made by the Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama while officiating at the Reset Fiji Tourism programme in Glasgow, Scotland Friday.
Prime Minister Bainimarama said we are in an excellent position to reopen our borders.
"With the lives and livelihoods of our people at stake, we vaccinated more of our population over a faster timeline than almost any other country. 86% of adults in Fiji are fully vaccinated and 96% have one dose, making us the safest we have been since the pandemic began," he said.
"From 1 December, Fiji will be welcoming visitors from an exclusive list of travel partner countries and yes, that list include the United Kingdom. Fully vaccinated travellers who have spent at least ten days here in the UK can arrive to the airport with a recent negative PCR test result and then hop on the plane to Fiji.
"Upon arrival, they can head straight to the hotel they have booked and enjoy all of the amenities on-site. We’ll require an additional Day 2 test, as you do here in the UK, before they are granted free reign of travel safe areas in Fiji. We’ve made the best of Fiji available to our visitors, the best of our beaches, our reefs, our forests, and waterfalls. It will all be open."
"The Fiji Airways team have been awaiting this day for months and they are more than ready to fly you safely to our shores," he said.
"They have the highest possible SKYTRAX 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and the Diamond certification by the Airline Passenger Experience Association or APEX to show for it. Our hotels are ready and our people's renowned hospitality is as wonderful as you have heard or remember."
The Prime Minister is in Glasgow to attend the climate negotiations at COP26 - a meeting that could be our last, best chance to drive serious action to stop the abuse that has changed the climate and, in turn, devastated our island communities.