Mauritius will welcome international travellers on 15 July. The island will be opening in phases during 2021 with the first phase, from 15 July to 30 September 2021, enabling vaccinated travellers to enjoy a resort holiday on the island.

Holidaymakers will be able to enjoy facilities within their chosen resort premises, including the swimming pool and beach. If guests stay over 14 days and have negative PCR tests during their stay in the resort, they will be able to explore the island’s attractions. However, for shorter stays, they may leave the resort earlier and travel back home. A list of pre-approved Covid-19 safe resorts will be available from 20 June 2021 at www.mauritiusnow.com.

Travellers to Mauritius aged 18 years or over must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. They must undergo a PCR test between five and seven days before departure and a negative result is required to travel to the island. Travellers will also have a PCR test on arrival at the airport in Mauritius and on day seven and 14 of their resort holiday, as applicable.

For phase two, from 1 October 2021, vaccinated travellers will be allowed entry without restrictions upon presentation of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before departure.

Unvaccinated travellers will be subject to 14 days in-room quarantine for both phases one and two until further notice.

Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, Arvind Bundhun, said: “We have been taking a cautious, phased approach to the reanimation of the tourism sector in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and today’s news marks a critical milestone in the road to recovery.  We are grateful for the cooperation of our valued partners and stakeholders who have been tirelessly working together to get to this important stage and delighted to make this confident first step towards a full reopening.  We are looking forward to working with the UK trade to welcome guests back to our beautiful island as soon as is it possible in line with Government guidelines.”

The announcement follows the acceleration of the vaccination campaign and the progress made towards herd immunity by the end of September. Frontliners of the tourism industry were prioritised during the vaccine rollout. This enables a prompt and safe restart of the Mauritius tourism industry.