BySiddhi Jain

March 10, 2021 (IANSlife) Seychelles, the Indian Ocean island destination has announced that it will be welcoming visitors from across the globe, irrespective of their vaccination status, as from March 25, 2021.

The announcement was made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde at the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) conference room at Botanical House following the Tourism Task Force Committee meeting.

Visitors will now only be required to present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure. There will be no quarantine requirement nor restriction on movement upon entry into Seychelles. Additionally, the minimum stay in establishments upon arrival will no longer be applicable.

However, visitors will still be required to adhere to other public health measures put in place in view of the pandemic these will include wearing of face masks, social distancing, regular sanitisation or washing of hands. The new measures also give visitors access to all communal area within the hotel premises inclusive of bars, swimming pools, spas and kid’s clubs.

Minister Radegonde said that the decision to review and relax the entry procedures in the country has been made possible in view of the success registered in the aggressive vaccination campaign that the country embarked on earlier in the year.

“The vaccination campaign has been quite successful. The government has done everything in its power to make sure that the population is protected. We have now arrived at the point where opening our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery. The measures being announced reflect broadly the recommendation of our tourism partners and have been done in full consultation with and the endorsement of our health authorities.”

The small island nation is situated off the east coast of Africa and has an economy based primarily on tourism. The destination will continuously review the new entry measures to ensure that at all times the health and safety of the visitors and the local population are not compromised.

Visitors from South Africa will still not be permitted to enter Seychelles for the time being until further review.

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Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in