More and more countries are starting to reopen for tourism and it’s interesting to see the differing approaches of places like Maldives & Seychelles. Sri Lanka & French Polynesia are the latest to announce their reopening plans and requirements.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka will be opening up from August 1st, 2020. The following requirements will be in place:
- Visa will be required, cost will be $100 and valid for 30 days and extendable for up to six months.
- Minimum five night stay required
- The following COVID-19 tests are required:
- A negative PCR test is required prior to boarding your flight and on arrival in Sri Lanka. The test should be no older than 72 hours prior to boarding
- PCR test will be done on arrival. It can take up to 24 hours for the test results to be completed you will be able to select a hotel for a one-night stay from Certified 4 or 5-star hotels in Colombo or Negombo until the test results are received.
- Second PCR test will be done 4-5 days after arrival in coordination with your Certified Accommodation provider
- Third PCR test will be required for travelers staying 10 days or more
French Polynesia
French Polynesia will begin reopening to tourism starting July 15th, 2020. The following requirements will be in place:
- Compulsory COVID-19 (RT-PCR) test 72 hours before the departure to French Polynesia
- Compulsory international travel insurance for every non-resident visitor traveling to French Polynesia (example; coverage provided by some credit cards used to cover the stay);
- Travelers will have to provide a medical certificate – Specifics to be communicated
- If the test is negative: boarding
- If the test is positive: no boarding
- Travelers who have tested COVID-19 positive more than 3 weeks prior to the departure and who have an immunity certificate proving their recovery are exempt from the requirements listed above – Specifics to be communicated.
- COVID-19 test 4 days after arrival: The Ministry of Health and Prevention of French Polynesia will randomly test a panel of travelers during their stay;
I wonder if any if the people bitching 1. were even planning to go to Tahiti and 2. could afford to go even if they wanted to, or 3. if they they’re just a bunch if whiny bitches. Tahiti locked down and eliminated the virus. Not our fault you people are dumb.
Why would anyone go to Tahiti with these restrictions? Ridiculous.
compulsory test before arrival, travel insurance and randomly a test after you arrive? what’s ridiculous with that?
Not ridiculous at all. Totally reasonable, and responsible. Don’t like it? Enjoy your Ozark pool parties.
There are very good reasons why US citizens/residents (the USA, UK, Brazil, Tanzania club) will be among the absolute last welcomed around the world. One reason is because to many people think things like social distancing, wearing a mask, and science are “ridiculous”.
Solid, smart policies from Sri Lanka and French Polynesia. I welcome them, and hope more countries adopt these common-sense steps to manage the pandemic.
US citizens will be among the absolute last welcomed around the world?? Hardly, not when the American dollar is the reserve currency of the world. No one refuses the US dollar and that won’t be changing any time soon, pandemic non-sense or not!
You see the current priority is to keep locals safe from Americans who might be science deniers and hence, could bring in nasty disease like COVID-19. So no one’s gonna care about the dollar at least until America gets it sh*t together.
Tanzania club ? What’s that, some racist reference ? I wonder why you did not call this a Sweden club ?
It appears to have been a reference to the club of countries including US, Brazil, UK and Tanzania?
Doc please fix the incorrect headline. All these restrictions means they aren’t opening for tourism. They are opening borders as long as you jump through ridiculous hassles.
As a rule, bloggers shouldn’t say a place is “reopening for tourism” if the restrictions seem like something they won’t personally go through.
The blog would have very little content if it only posts stuff the blogger would personally do. Just because you don’t like Sri Lanka’s restrictions doesn’t mean the info won’t be useful to some of us.
Find me even a single tourist willing to go through all these restrictions to go to Srilanka.
I would – a visa, a couple of medical tests and a night in Colombo aren’t big restrictions at all. I’ve gone through worse to get places.
Lol, dude, I’m willing to bet a ton of people would be willing to go through these types of restrictions if it means they can travel to other countries. Maybe not specifically Sri Lanka, but if this was like France or Japan? Hell yeah I’d do it. I know several people who have gone to Korea, which requires a 2 week quarantine on your own dime at a hotel. This is way less restrictive. A few tests and 24 hour quarantine? That’s nothing.
Raising my hand, and looking at flights to CMB. It looks like a great places, and I’d jump at the chance to travel to someplace where the mask-refusing idiots are kept out. Sounds like paradise.
Lol. Let’s wait and look at Sri Lanka visitor figures, I bet it’s going to be more than 1.
Did you write the blogger penal code? Idiot.
How do you know what I would and wouldn’t personally do? These are reopening for tourism as previously you couldn’t visit.
There is nothing ridiculous in these rules – they are relatively straightforward and make sense.
I really really hope more countries make it very expensive for tourism. We need less tourists that spend more.
The riff raff can stay home in their own countries and kill each other. All these idiots go to cheap countries and pollute them with their crap. The only other alternative is a working/ volunteer holiday of at least a month where the tourists do good for the communities, like the peace corps.
So in summary, only those with privilege, should be permitted to travel. Wouldn’t want a poor brown person to contaminate your vacation.
Yes. Pretty much. But i didn’t bring up skin color. My thoughts are color agnostic.
This world has too many people and we should find ways to make it easy for people to just go away. You know what i mean? Then things will be so much better.
dumbest take I’ve ever heard…
It might be difficult for some to get a test 72 hours before departure and receive the results of those tests before boarding
Hey Doc, I was just thinking maybe make a thread or link on your site (in the menu maybe) just for places opening around the world so that people can find this stuff easily. Peeps are going to start traveling soon so it would be awesome to be able to find this stuff easily. Idk, just a thought. I’d imagine a lot of places are gonna be opening up soon.
I’ll create a dedicated page once more start opening up
Exactly. Is there a list of places that provide testing that you can get your results in 24 hours?
This strikes me as the big problem. The policies themselves aren’t inherently unreasonable, but it may just not be possible for people in certain areas to get both a test and a result within that time period.
I wonder if that’s not by design, though? If a traveller from a country/area where it’s not possible to get an elective test on short notice, that’s probably because their country has done a shit job of managing the pandemic and doesn’t have enough tests or broad enough testing to allow it, which suggests that person is also at higher risk of being a carrier based on their community exposure.