Tourism Fiji has launched Care Fiji Commitment, a programme featuring enhanced safety, health and hygiene protocols as it prepares to reopen borders to travellers sometime in the future. Care Fiji Commitment is designed to reassure travellers that Fiji is a safe destination to visit.
Although Fiji’s borders are currently still closed to international travellers, the introduction of the programme represents a destination-wide assurance that Fiji is ready to welcome travellers safely back to its shores upon re-opening.
Fiji has introduced some new measures, such as dedicated drop-in fever clinics for potential COVID-19 patients to get tested, WHO-accredited isolation facilities and the careFIJI app, which is used for contract tracing throughout the islands.
It is expected that 200 of the islands’ resorts, tour operators, restaurants, attractions and more will sign up as Care Fiji Commitment Partners. At each business that has taken the “Care Fiji Commitment” pledge, guests can find a designated wellness ambassador, to help answer questions regarding protocol and enforce social distancing or masks where required.
Visitors from COVID-contained countries and territories will be able to enter Fiji without quarantine. Other travellers will require a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
Best practice COVID-19 mitigation measures across the tourism Fiji industry include:
- Fiji Airways ‘Travel Ready’ on-board wellness programme.
- Nadi International following international airport protocols.
- Fiji tourism businesses upholding best practice standards and operating under COVID safe guidelines.
- Destination-wide COVID-19 health and hygiene policies.
- Enhanced sanitation practices across all tourism businesses.
- Physical distancing practices in place.
- Contact tracing protocols in place.
- Case identification process in place.
- Frontline staff trained in COVID-19 safe practices.
- A Wellness Ambassador at each business.
- Globally recognised control and mitigation measures.
- Testing and surveillance processes aligned with WHO recommendations.
- Local testing available for COVID-19 at the Fiji Centre for Disease Control using the gold standard method for COVID-19 testing.
- WHO accredited isolation facilities in place.
- Clear procedures in place for suspected cases.
- Dedicated drop-in fever clinics across Fiji for concerned visitors showing symptoms.
Dedicated COVID hotline. - careFiji contact tracing app.
- Downloadable smartphone app for contact tracing.
Everyone planning a trip to Fiji when it reopens will be asked to be responsible for the wellbeing of the country and commit to the programme by both taking the Care Fiji Commitment pledge and:
- Postponing any travel if they feel unwell.
- Undertaking a PCR test prior to travel.
- Downloading the careFiji app.
- Adhering to all social distancing, sanitisation and face mask regulations.
Tourism Fiji will communicate the Care Fiji Commitment across its international source markets to anyone that is considering booking a trip to Fiji once the borders are opened.
Fiji has become a popular tourism destination among Chinese travellers in recent years with active marketing and promotion by Tourism Fiji China.
The tourism industry is by far the most important for Fiji’s international trade in the service sector. It directly contributes approximately 34% of Fiji’s GDP and supports roughly one in three workers in the state of 333 islands.
Part of Tourism Fiji’s strategy to re-enter the sector is to make the destination appealing to the Chinese market. Stage One was about inspiring Chinese nationals to dream about a trip to Fiji. Stage Two focuses on giving reasons for Chinese travellers to choose Fiji for their next trip and giving them the confidence to start planning for it. Stage Three is planning for re-opening the borders and Stage Four is actually opening,
Fiji has no predicted opening dates yet.
Medical tourism and health tourism are both on the list of future developments.
©2024 All rights reserved LaingBuisson 
