Answer the call to Vanuatu

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Our Borders Are Now Open! Click here for travel information to Vanuatu. Visit Nabanga Pledge to stay Covid-safe during your holiday.

Its only 8 weeks until we welcome our first visitors to Vanuatu!

Last week has seen the team move away from the Tourism Ready phase, which the Department of Tourism (DOT) will continue working on, to our next two phases of the Tourism Recovery Road Map – Market Ready and Market Opening. Both our local and international teams are focused on their plans and bringing life to these activities ensuring all our partners and stakeholders are ready to have visitors Answer the Call of Vanuatu from 1st July 2022.

time to get ready

Last Week's updates :

  • VTO management team along with VCCI (representing the VHRA), Air Vanuatu, AVL, provincial health authorities have met with the Ministry of Health this week to further discuss the health protocol requirements and processes for the Border Opening on the 1st July. The MOH team presented their plan to the group, who provided feedback for further consultation and clarification. These recommendations are now being reviewed and we expect to have finalized the approved requirements from MOH officials early next week for distribution. Once again what we can confirm so far there is NO quarantine on arrival and NO capacity limits on flights from the 1st July 2022.
  • The Vanuatu Government has further relaxed restrictions between the islands. SHEFA and SANMA have respectively been shifted to Recovery Level 1 and 2. For more information, please visit the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health – Health Promotions Vanuatu. To see the health protocols under these recovery levels, please click HERE.
  • At the last meeting with the Ministry of Health, it was recommended that the Department of Tourism (DoT) will be responsible to support the review of tourism businesses SOPs as on ongoing process of the delivery of the Safe Business Operations (SBO) training and auditing and as the Government regulatory body for all tourism businesses. Further details will be communicated in the next few days, once approved by the Health Emergency Advisory Committee, to fast-track the resumption of business activities while adhering to the COVID Health Safety protocols.
  • Air Vanuatu is working with Airports Vanuatu Ltd (AVL) to develop a process for pre-departure testing of all domestic travelers once borders open on the 1st July 2022.
  • The AT3 Taskforce (VTO, AVL and Air Vanuatu) have finalized the Aviation Access Strategy document and will now be submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration. This strategy was coordinated through the facilitation of the Department of Tourism and supported by the Vanuatu Strategic Action Plan funded by the New Zealand Government.
  • Our Workers Attraction Campaign is currently underway. Our first of the 10 series videos will be broadcasted throughout our social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Youtube to further strengthen our domestic labour market and encourage the return of work-ready pool of workers to our Tourism and Hospitality sector. Stay tune!
  • Applications for labour and training are already being received and will be collated and submitted to the Department of Labour to load onto the online employment portal (Employment Vanuatu Services) so that industry can use, view and consider applicants for recruitment. Interested applicants are encouraged to send their profiles (CV and letter of interests) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
  • The Office seeks to engage a part-time agent for the Vanuatu Tourism Help Desk and would like to receive proposals from suitably qualified individuals interested in taking on this contract. The objective of the Vanuatu Tourism Help Desk is to make it easy for travel trade and partners to secure information on various products and experiences, as we move closer to border openings. The role is expected to commence on the 01st of June 2022 and continue through to the 15th of December 2022. For more information, please click HERE. This activity is supported under the Vanuatu Tourism Marketing Recovery Project (VTMRP) and funded by the Government of Australia.
  • To end the week, the DoT & VTO met to review the implementation of the Tourism and Market Ready stages of the Tourism Recovery Roadmap for Border Opening outlining progress made so far. The Tourism Business Support is currently being reviewed and new details will be communicated by the Department of Tourism.
  • Both VTO and DoT have initiated reconnections with the Cruise Lines, to discuss the safe cruise resumptions plans and future protocols for Vanuatu, as Vanuatu sets to reopen in July. These discussions are ongoing and we look forward to providing you with further updates in the coming weeks.
  • The Department of Tourism had facilitated a meeting with the Australian Pacific Technical College (APTC), Vanuatu Institute of Technology (VIT), Vanuatu Skills Partnership (VSP) and the Vanuatu Tourism Office to review its collaboration on strengthening the demand for tourism training needs to be developed, facilitated and delivered by the training providers as part of the tourism readiness stage.
  • The Vanuatu Skills Partnership and the VTO signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to cooperate in working towards the shared goal of supporting the inclusive growth of the tourism sector in Vanuatu. From this MOU, the VSP will be supporting the VTO with the technical expertise of a Productive Sector Advisor (TA), in the areas of planning, organizing and executing market research, surveys and development of a quality management system to strengthen data and insights to support VTO’s investments in marketing for the domestic and international market. The term of this MOU is expected to lapse in 2024.


International Teams:

  • Website review and updates continue. Remember to check your listing to ensure all your images and content is up to date.
  • Plans for “First Flight” PR activations are underway and we look forward to sharing this with you all soon.
  • The team are currently reviewing the Creative concept that has been developed for the Border Opening Campaign and work will continue on developing this including the marketing assets and tools to share with you all.
  • The international team are desperate for short updates and images of operator’s businesses to share with the trade and media in their markets. It may be that you are closing your business to do some minor renovations to prepare for border openings, you have a new tour that you will be offering, or that you are simply excited to be welcoming back tourists to your business. Trade Media are hungry to be sharing Vanuatu operators updates in their publications – this is free exposure to the Retail Agents in both Australia and New Zealand and the VTO teams can help co-ordinate this for you. Please send your updates to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Last week, VTO’s Australian team attended the Treasures of the South Pacific (TOSP) trade and media events in Sydney, to wave the Vanuatu flag and update our Australian travel trade, media and wholesaler partners on the reopening plans, what’s new in destination and what they can expect on their next trip. Both events were buzzing with excitement, with both trade and media delighted with the news of Vanuatu’s reopening.
  • The trade event had a whopping 55 people in attendance, including teams from Expedia, Dive Adventures, Flight Centre, Island Escapes, Ignite, The Travel Junction and Helloworld, each of whom are ready to engage their clients and start selling Vanuatu product again. The media event (which was the first-ever Treasures media event) saw 16 top-tier journalists in attendance, from consumer titles including Australian Women’s Weekly, Thrillist, Executive Traveller as well as travel trade publications KarryOn and Travel Daily, each of which can’t wait to start planning their Vanuatu stories and sharing the news of our reopening with their audience.
  • Our first Reconnecting the Industry Webinar is being organised and we will have a confirmed date for this in the coming week. There will be key speakers from Australia and New Zealand Trade Partners providing some valuable learnings they have from other South Pacific Border openings. You won’t want to miss this one!
  • The Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) is seeking to secure a full-service Destination Marketing Representation Services for the New Zealand market. The contract will be for 2 years with a 2-year extension based on mutual agreement and performance. The VTO would like to hear from any suitable qualified businesses or individuals or consortiums interested in taking on this exciting representation role. Closing of submissions is 15 May 2022. For more information click HERE.