16 May, 2016: Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) together with members of the country’s tourism industry welcomes the news that Virgin Australia intends to reinstate its flights to Port Vila from 23 May, 2016.

The return of the airline’s three times weekly flights from Brisbane is particularly timely as the South Pacific nation moves into a new, exciting era of tourism with fresh developments and a new marketing campaign underway.

The news follows the recent completion of the first phase of rehabilitation of Port Vila’s Bauerfield International Airport’s main runway, which addressed earlier safety concerns.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson said its team of safety experts has conducted an inspection of the runway and the airline intends to resume its normal operations to and from Port Vila from Monday, 23 May 2016.

“Safety is always our number one priority and we will continue to monitor the runway to ensure that it remains suitable for operations,” Virgin Australia said.

VTO’s General Manager, Linda Kalpoi said the planned return of Virgin Australia on the Brisbane to Port Vila route would further encourage Australian travellers to book their trips to Vanuatu.

“Virgin Australia re-joins other airlines already flying to Vanuatu including Air Vanuatu, AirCalin and Fiji Airways at an exciting and pivotal time for tourism in Vanuatu,” Ms Kalpoi said.

“This increased flight capacity into Vanuatu coincides beautifully with newly increased hotel capacity as a number of key hotels re-open their doors including the newly renovated Iririki Island Resort & Spa and Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu, offering more places for visitors to lay their heads.”

Air Vanuatu has also announced increased weekly flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland commencing 1 June, 2016, in line with the upcoming peak season.

In the lead up to this busy travel period, travel trade looking for the latest updates on Vanuatu and key selling tools can visit www.vanuatuspecialists.com.au  and complete the online training workshop.

ENDS