On March 25, the Seychelles will reopen to visitors from all over the world, with the exception of South Africa, according to a top official.
Visitors arriving on the islands would only need a negative PCR test completed within 72 hours of their arrival. There will be no need for quarantine, and tourists will be able to spend their vacations in licensed hotels.
Visitors would, however, be required to adhere to health measures in place, which include wearing masks, hand sanitizing, and social and physical distancing, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Sylvestre Radegonde.
Radegonde said:
We are hoping that this will give the economy the breathing space that the economy needs, the country needs. And we hope that this will follow by a series of economic activities around the tourism industry. There is demand across the world for holidays and Seychelles is being looked at as potential
In terms of the South African market, the minister said that the decision was made because it is essential to protect the European market, which is critical to the industry’s survival.
“The problem is the European market. We are already on a red list in England associated with flights to South Africa. So we are in discussions with the British authorities to better understand what their problem is and how to resolve this. Once resolved we will open to everyone including South Africa.
Anne Lafortune, the Principal Secretary for Tourism, added that tourists must book accommodations in accredited tourism establishments. COVID-19 certification is currently held by 535 licensed accommodations out of 700 total.
Once establishments are certified, they have their SOPs that the establishments have developed and endorsed by health. They need to observe these SOPs, for instance if the visitor falls ill, know what to do, where to put them, because they still can become positive, so these remain, as long as SOPs are observed, there are no restrictions they can move about.
The principal secretary said that tourists are free to travel around all of the islands and that they are also free to go on yachts without a crew, which was not previously the case.
Travelers are showing interest in Seychelles, which consists of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, according to Sherin Francis of the Seychelles Tourism Board.
For instance there are markets like Germany, Israel and England and there has always been, throughout, markets where many people have researched vacations but due to travel conditions many people had not booked any travels, but with the announcement made today, in the coming week we will monitor how our potential visitors react to the announcement
Airlines that already fly to Seychelles, according to Francis, are retaining their schedules and can increase flights. Aeroflot’s return to bring in Russian visitors, as well as chartered flights from Israel and flights by Air Seychelles, are all being prepared now.
During the cruise season, which runs from October to April, a significant number of tourists to the islands arrive by cruise ship, but the country closed the cruise ship season due to COVID-19. However, according to Lafortune, talks are ongoing to see if this will be opened this year.
The minister also used the opportunity to urge people employed in the tourism industry who have not yet received their vaccine to do so in order to protect not only fellow Seychellois but also the tourists they represent.
