The Minister for Commerce, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz Koya says the recent legislation changes made in Fiji with respect to vaccination looks to ensure that a substantial portion of the population is vaccinated and then only we can look forward to a travel bubble and trade.
Koya highlighted this during the Forum Trade Ministers and Economic Ministers media conference.
He says there are ongoing discussions on a daily basis with regards to this which are headed by Fiji’s Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Koya says they would love the travel bubble to open up tomorrow but they will need to make sure that everything is in order in terms of vaccination.
Meanwhile Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja says it will be difficult to see the opening of travel bubbles for Fiji until the recent COVID-19 outbreak is under control and we see those case numbers come down significantly and also with population numbers significantly vaccinated.
Seselja says the hopeful aspect in Fiji's difficult period is the very significant and high rates of vaccination that are taking place right now which will start to provide that protection to the community.
He says international tourism is a high priority but there's a few hurdles they have overcome and they would look to take potentially baby steps like the vacation paradise model before moving to a full bubble and then other arrangements beyond that.
Seselja says Australians are keen where it's possible to start to travel again and he knows how important it is to Pacific economies and particularly to places like Fiji and Vanuatu who do suffer a lot as a result of not having tourism.
