Easter Island welcomes back tourists post-pandemic

Easter Island welcomes back tourists post-pandemic

The stone statues  of Easter Island
The stone statues of Easter Island. Photo: MIGUEL CARRASCO / AFP
Source: AFP

Chile's Easter Island, a popular Pacific Ocean tourist destination, officially reopened to the world Monday after more than two years of coronavirus closure.

The first flight with tourists -- many with bookings made before the pandemic -- was due to touch down on Thursday, tourism official Veronica Kunze told reporters.

"We have to open the island, but we have to do it safely," she added.

Arrivals must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and show a negative PCR test.

The island, located 3,500 kilometers west of the coast of Chile, is world-famous for its "moais," huge stone statues in human form partially buried in the Earth.

The island's main source of revenue was domestic and international tourism before flights were grounded on March 16, 2020, following the first reported cases of coronavirus in Chile.

Read also

Four dead during S.Africa demos over high power costs

PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!

Easter Island used to receive some 160,000 tourists per year, arriving on two flights daily.

In the two years without tourists, islanders resorted to bartering and planting their own vegetable gardens, officials said.

The island has reported only two coronavirus cases, with no hospitalizations or deaths.

The reopening will be gradual, with some two flights a week at first, said Kunze.

The local hospital had been reinforced, she added, and now boasts an isolation unit as well as a PCR laboratory.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.