Tourism Minister Faiyaz Koya

Tourism Minister Faiyaz Koya has urged all parties to keep up the momentum in order to meet the November deadline for re-opening borders.

Speaking during a Tourism Fiji webinar, Koya stresses that Fiji still has to achieve 80 percent full vaccination and reduce community transmissions.

The minister adds the big question on everyone’s mind is when a formal re-opening announcement will be made to help solidify plans for tourism operators.

He says, for now, the ministry is working behind the scenes to finalise the re-opening framework which outlines entry requirements to minimise risks and keep both tourists and Fijians safe.

Some factors being considered are medical and digital infrastructure and market agility.

This includes the frequency and platforms for testing visitors, determining which markets to accept on what conditions, setting up vaccine passports and mutual recognition, creating a seamless travel authorization portal, and determining where tourists go in Fiji.

Koya adds this is being worked on collectively with the Ministry of Health, Tourism Fiji, Fiji Airways, and the Tourism Recovery Team.

Stakeholders have also been told that there remains a fundamental need to work together to reduce Fiji’s COVID positivity rate as the surge in cases and deaths in the Western division needs to be controlled.