It has been a good week for Zambia tourism!
On Saturday, following the World Health Assembly on Friday in Geneva, the South African Department of Health agreed to lift the yellow fever vaccination requirement for travellers entering South Africa from Zambia. The new ruling was effective immediately.
This decision came after the World Health Organisation officially confirmed that Zambia has a low yellow fever potential exposure status – which means that anyone now travelling to Zambia, be it for a short visit to the iconic Victoria Falls or to go on safari in Luangwa, Kafue or Lower Zambezi, no longer needs to carry a yellow fever vaccination certificate.
Tourism to Zambia has undoubtely suffered a bit over the past few years. Let’s be honest, the yellow fever vaccination is relatively expensive – I had one 2 years ago and said goodby to £80 – ouch (and ouch for the jab too, as it hurt a lot!). Many tourists who wanted to include a 2 night ‘bolt on’ trip to the Victoria Falls after their safari holiday in South Africa felt the same – and rather than not to go the Falls, they chose to stay on the Zimbabwe side instead.
For those wanting to combine South Africa with seeing the Victoria Falls from the Zambia side, you need to fly into Livingstone, which is serviced daily with direct flights from Johannesburg, taking just over 2 hours. Or, if you are ending your trip in SA with a safari in the Kruger National Park, you can also fly directly to Livingstone from Kruger Mpumalanga/Nelspruit (airport code MQP) on certain days. Which means you can begin your day with breakfast at your safari lodge overlooking the bush and end your day on an evening sunset cruise on the Zambezi! I could think of worst ways to start and end a day!