by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:55 AM ET, Thu March 4, 2021
Seychelles' Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, announced on March 4, 2021 that the island destination will reopen to visitors from all countries except South Africa beginning March 25, 2021.
The announcement follows a Tourism Task Force Committee meeting. Visitors will only be required to present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure. Vaccination status is not required.
There are also no quarantine requirements for visitors. Visitors will be required to wear face masks and use social distancing and sanitization practices, but the new measures give travelers access to all communal areas within a hotel's property, including bars, spas and swimming pools.
The main reason Minister Radegonde cited for the relaxing of these measures was the country's aggressive vaccination campaign made 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 Indian Ocean island nation is the first African country to launch a comprehensive COVID-19 immunization campaign, which began in January 2021.
According to the New York Times' Global Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker, Seychelles ranks second only to Israel in the number of vaccinations, with 57.8% of its population having been at least partially vaccinated and 25% of its population completely vaccinated as of the time when this article was written.
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