Everything you need to know about travel to Fiji

Everything you need to know about travelling to Fiji

Words: Graham Erbacher Producer: Louise Starkey

Australian holidaymakers have been welcomed back to Fiji with open arms after the island nation closed its borders in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

The first flight of vaccinated, Covid-tested tourists arrived in December to a warm and boisterous welcome, complete with singers, dancers and people lining the road waving flags.

Much rides on the successful reopening to visitors for Fiji, where the full vaccination rate is more than 90 per cent of adults.

Tourism fuels 40 per cent of Fiji's GDP and 120,000 hospitality workers lost their jobs after the borders closed.

Many of those workers returned to their villages and a subsistence lifestyle when they were laid off. In a country where family bonds are strong, access to land for crops and the sea for fishing ensured survival.

The "silver lining" is that many younger people have learned traditional skills they might otherwise have missed including farming, raising livestock and fishing.

With health safeguards in place, Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill estimates 120,000 visitors will visit the country by July, with 70,000 bookings through December and January alone.

"Our best marketing is people going home safely and saying they've had a great time."

Brent Hill Tourism Fiji chief executive

Travel tips

Download an international Covid vaccination certificate from Medicare on the myGov site. Before departure Have proof of travel insurance that covers Covid medical costs. Take an international travel Covid test 72 hours before departure and carry certificate of proof. Pre-book at least three nights at a Care-Fiji certified hotel or resort (with fully vaccinated staff) and an airport transfer. Download the careFIJI app for scanning to allow access to public places, much as in Australia.

Travel tips

Take a rapid Covid test at 48 hours. Many certified hotels have in-house clinics for this and charge way below Australian rates. After arrival In this period, visitors must stay around the resort or go on day trips with certified operators, of which there are hundreds. Mask use is expected and room service may not be available for the first two days.

Travel tips

Take a full PCR Covid test 72 hours before your return flight. Returning home Complete an Australian Travel Declaration at least 72 hours — but not more than seven days — before the flight. Available via the Australian government ATD app. Check state requirements for information on whether you need to self-isolate on return. Passengers from Fiji to Sydney and Melbourne must self-isolate for 72 hours, and take a Covid test within 24 hours of arrival and six days after.

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