In a move that will give a great boost to Eswatini’s tourism in the run-up to the festive season, the nation has removed all remaining COVID-related entry regulations. International visitors can now enter, needing neither vaccination certificates nor test results.

This brings the country in line with South Africa and a number of other countries across southern Africa.

Eswatini believes it is already well-prepared for the return of tourism. It was awarded the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp in 2020, based on its robust set of COVID-prevention protocols established quickly by the Eswatini Tourism Authority in conjunction with the Eswatini Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and the UN. The country also subsequently obtained the Safer Tourism Seal. COVID cases in Eswatini have remained below 100 for some time now.

Eswatini Tourism Authority CEO, Linda Nxumalo, is excited about what this final step will mean for the future: “The Authority believes this latest move will help towards the goal of increasing the number of tourists into Eswatini to two million by 2025 and further encourage tourists to increase the nights they spend in the kingdom to at least three. Tourism remains the strategic economic recovery pillar for Eswatini and this move will help create and sustain more jobs and further increase tourism contributions to GDP.”