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.

Spokespeople in the travel and tourism sectors say the recent Talbot Mills Research on lifting borders and on vaccination intentions contained definite positives for the industry.

Although media coverage emphasised that one in two New Zealanders do not want to see the borders open until 90% plus Kiwis were fully vaccinated, there were more encouraging details in the full picture.

Moves are afoot within Cambodia’s tourism industry to work towards a possible reopening of borders for fully vaccinated international travellers by November this year.

The Cambodian tourism ministry recently announced that fully vaccinated international tourists with proof of their inoculation could be allowed into Cambodia as soon as November 2021.

Cambodia is also considering lessening or removing the 14-day quarantine policy for fully vaccinated tourists, barring certification showing a negative Covid test 72 hours before travel and another negative Covid test upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport.

More than 90% of avid cruisers from Australasia support moves to only allow fully vaccinated passengers and crew on board, according to a survey released at the CLIA Cruise Forum webinars on Friday.

Conducted by Cruise Critic, the Australia New Zealand-centric survey, which allowed people to tick more than one answer in this particular question, asked respondents which Covid health measures they supported to ensure a safer cruise experience.

The results were presented by Cruise Critic’s Colleen McDaniel – fittingly from her cabin on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. ‘Vaccination was rated as the most supported measure, which is fantastic because that is the tack cruise lines are taking,’ says McDaniel.

Aviation intelligence specialist OAG says vaccination rates alone are ‘not a guide to how easy international air travel is’. The company’s research shows government policy is a ‘much more important determinant of airline recovery’.

OAG has sorted countries into four categories based on the proportion of the population that is vaccinated and the level of international capacity operatings.

Tourism Fiji has a new initiative to encourage all Fijians to be ready to welcome back international visitors when travel resumes. The initiative communicates a simple, but important, message in a bid to reach 100% vaccination of eligible population in Fiji.

‘It’s our best shot at travel: get vaccinated and get ready,’ will be shared across Tourism Fiji’s digital channels, both locally and globally.

‘The campaign also includes a toolkit for the Fijian tourism industry so they too can encourage Fijians to support the drive to get vaccinated and be ready to reopen,’ says Brent Hill, Tourism Fiji CEO.

Getting clarity around the roll-out of vaccinations and what that will mean for future travel is the number one issue in terms of getting the industry here back on its feet, says Travel Agents’Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) president Brent Thomas.

‘What we have seen overseas is that borders open as vaccination numbers increase. There is more willingness to open up to vaccinated people and we see that as a guide to how New Zealand will come out of this.