Vanuatu tourism has launched a new Welkam Back to Vanuatu! campaign in New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia.

The advertising showcases Vanuatu’s tourism offering across radio, outdoor and digital and social.

Air Vanuatu will resume its services to Port Vila from Auckland in July, following Vanuatu’s reopening of its border to international travellers on 1 July 2022.

NF will operate a twice-weekly non-stop Boeing 737 service on (3hr 15 flight duration) from Auckland to Port Vila on Wednesday and Saturday departing 1210, commencing 2 July 2022. Air Vanuatu will also resume flights from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to Port Vila as of 1 July.

Nasama Resort and Breaka’s Beach Resort joined forces to hold Vanuatu’s first vaccination party over the weekend. 

Anyone was welcome to come along, get vaccinated, and share some kai kai (dinner) and enjoy the entertainment. It was held at Nasama Resort’s new restaurant, The Three Pigs, and 380 people received their first or second dose on the day.

Moves are afoot to have four UNESCO Geoparks established in the Pacific, a development expected to boost tourism in a sustainable way while focusing on not only geology but also culture.

It is possible that these and others may form a ‘Geopark trail’ around the Pacific.

At a South Pacific Tourism Office (supported by the South Pacific Community, SPC) webinar this week, it was noted that a number of steps needed to be taken at all sites (some more than others) before a submission could be made to UNESCO.

Clean, Caring and Checked is the new mantra of tourism businesses across Vanuatu, under the Vanuatu Government’s Safe Business Operations (SBO) programme. 

The Covid safety training is a required preparation for business restarts and all tourism staff are encouraged to undertake it across the 83 islands.

‘We must protect not only visitors but also our tourism staff and families. This training will ensure businesses are prepared to get back on their feet and provide our people with the confidence to greet visitors to Vanuatu,’ says Rae Ernest, safe business operations coordinator.  ‘

Yesterday marked a border milestone between Vanuatu and New Zealand as 154 seasonal workers arrived in Christchurch with the commencement of the one-way travel bubble from Vanuatu to New Zealand.

‘The new travel bubble establishes a series of new protocols in both Vanuatu and New Zealand to create this safe travel pathway,’ says Len Tarivonda, director of Vanuatu’s Public Health. ‘It is the first stage in testing the systems we have put in place in Vanuatu and ensuring our citizens are prepared for travel.

‘Naturally we are hopeful that this will lead to two-way travel between our countries – however we need to take it step by step to ensure our preparations are sound,’ says Tarivonda.

Vanuatu Tourism Office’s latest campaign, We’re Saving You A Spot, aims to motivate travellers to put Vanuatu on their holiday list.

The office says Vanuatu has remained Covid free and is ‘cautiously holding discussions and looking to open borders with New Zealand.’

Agents who deal with group travel of various sorts were the target audience of a joint destination Pacific event at Villa Maria Estate near Auckland Airport mid October.

Organiser Faye Spooner says Meet the Pacific was aimed at incentive, meeting and conference organisers but beyond that had appeal to wedding planners and organisers of sports and educational tours, as well as travel agents who send inter-generational and other family groups to the Pacific. While most of the ‘buyers’ were from Auckland, agents also came from Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth and Rotorua.

To coincide with Air Vanuatu’s Super Sales Fares for the 2019 low season of February and March, Vanuatu’s Nasama Resort is offering 40% off for bookings of four nights or more during this period.

Agents were treated to a glimpse of what Vanuatu has to offer before Tok Tok kicked off on Thursday last week. Agents started the tour off with Evergreen Vanuatu, a leading indigenous inbound tour operator that covers Vanuatu’s major tourist islands. As the largest indigenous tour operator in Vanuatu, Evergreen has the knowledge on the inside spots to see throughout Vanuatu as well as local custom and culture.