Seychelles, on March 25, will open its borders to tourists while excluding those from South Africa.
The move to bar SA traffic appears to be at the behest of European markets which, it seems, require the exclusion of visitors from South Africa in order to allow their own populations to visit Seychelles. The Seychelles government says it is addressing the issue of having to bar visitors from South Africa.
The Seychelles minister of foreign affairs, Sylvestre Radegonde, is quoted in the Seychelles News Agency saying the decision to exclude South Africa traffic from the return to Seychelles was taken as it was important to protect the European market vital for the industry. “The problem is the European market. We are already on a red list in England associated with flights to South Africa. So we are in discussions with the British authorities to better understand what their problem is and how to resolve this. Once resolved we will open to everyone including South Africa” said the minister.
Visitors will need negative PCR tests conducted within 72 hours prior to departing their country of origin, and will need to stay in one of the 535 certified hotels (out of 700 licensed establishments). Social distancing, mask-wearing and hand sanitising will be mandatory.
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