The South Pacific islands opened to fully vaccinated tourists from “travel partner” countries on Wednesday (1 December), with the first flight from Sydney landing at 11.25am carrying 300 passengers.

Fiji, which has more than 90% of its local population fully vaccinated against Covid-19, decided to continue with its reopening plans despite the onset of the new Omicron variant of the virus.

Brent Hill, chief executive of Tourism Fiji, said: “It’s such an exciting day for Fiji and for our tourism industry. It’s been a long time coming.

“From airline to accommodation, Fiji tourism operators and related services have worked hard to ensure and uphold internationally benchmarked Covid-safety practices.

“The resumption of both domestic and international tourism is a credit to Fiji’s collective commitment for public safety, and safe and seamless travel, coupled with our famous Bula spirit.”

Travellers to Fiji must be fully vaccinated, with children under 18 able to travel with a vaccinated adult, and come from a list of travel partner countries, which includes the UK and Ireland. Those aged over 12 must also receive a negative PCR test result 72 hours before boarding their flight to the islands.