The beautiful island nation of Mauritius recently announced further easing of COVID-19 entry regulations for visitors. Here’s what’s changed…
Travelling made easier
Officially today, 1 July 2022, Mauritius will no longer require on-arrival testing for fully vaccinated visitors. The mask requirement is also now only required in public settings like hospitals, airports, ports and public transport.
Arvind Bundhun, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, responded to the latest change in regulations for the country.
“I am confident that our post-pandemic recovery is well underway, and with the easing of sanitary measures, bookings for the second half of 2022 will be stimulated.” he said.
Visitors who are unvaccinated, however, must still spend seven days in quarantine in “accommodation of [their] choice”. Under 18s travelling with a parent or guardian do not need to show proof of vaccination to enter the country.
According to travel news, the island’s borders were officially opened on 1 October last year, and since then, over 500 000 tourists have visited the tropical destination. The double vaccination rate in the country is now over 90%, and around two-thirds of all over 18 have also received their booster shots.
Mauritius is already a beloved destination and had been seeing steady growth in tourism over the past twenty years – with a peak of 1.4M tourists visiting the little island in 2019.
South Africans to Mauritius
The island nation has always been a favoured destination for South Africans, and now with local low cost airline FlySafair having relaunched flights to the tcountry on 8 March, flying to Mauritius has never been more cost-efective. Prices start at around R3 700 one way, depending on travel period.
This change to Mauritius COVID-19 regulations is the latest in a series of decreases in the severity of pandemic era legislation, reflecting a slow but steady return to “normal” and an increase in leisure travel once again.
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