Welcome to Selling Luxury, a podcast/video series produced by the editors of Luxury Travel Advisor. This series aims to inspire and educate travel advisors who want to enter the luxury arena and provides great insights for those advisors who are already successful in this niche.
This week, Matt Turner, editor for Luxury Travel Advisor, caught up with Ruth Daly, Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director of North America to get the latest from the destination and learn about top traveler trends as well as how the Tourism Fiji team works with travel advisors.
Since opening its borders on December 1, 2021, Fiji has successfully begun welcoming back fully vaccinated U.S. travelers. In fact, Daly says, the destination received three times the number of American travelers in the month of December than its projections. When it comes to safety in the destination, she adds that 94 percent of all Fijians and 100 percent of those in the tourism industry are fully vaccinated.
As of March 7, to travel to Fiji, you must have official documentation relating to your vaccine status, a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid antigen test, “Care Fiji Committed” accommodation bookings and travel insurance—all of which will be checked at the airport by the airline before you fly. (For the most up-to-date information, Daly says to www.fiji.travel/faq.) Daly adds that she’s hoping requirements are eased further this month.
Regarding air travel, Daly reports that Air Fiji has resumed nightly service out of Los Angeles three times weekly from San Francisco.
“I really think Fiji is the perfect post-COVID destination for travelers,” Daly says. For one, there are plenty of private island resorts offering outdoor spaces and physical distancing from other guests. Second, Daly notes that “Fiji is incredibly committed to sustainability, and I think that’s a really strong touchpoint for today’s travelers.” Third “it’s all about the people,” she says.
On the hotel front, COMO Laucala Island, a private island resort, opened in December 15. Guests reach the destination via a 45-minute private air charter from Nadi International Airport to the island’s private airstrip. There are 25 residences, spread out on private beaches, above lagoons, and atop hills and mountains—each with its own COMO butler and private pool. Good to know: A first for COMO, the island has its own tropical 18-hole David McLay Kidd-designed golf course, in addition to a A first for COMO, the island has its own tropical 18-hole David McLay Kidd-designed golf course, in addition to a COMO Shambhala Retreat, the resort’s wellness center.
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