The Chilean government has announced that tourists will be welcome again on Easter Island from August 1. The island is located over 3000 kilometers west of the coast of Chile and is best known for its stone statues in the shape of gigantic heads. The statues represent the ancestors of the Polynesian people of Easter Island and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
When the corona pandemic began in March 2020, residents of the remote island in the middle of the Pacific protested against the presence of tourists. They even took over the airport. They wanted to prevent planes from landing from the mainland.
Chile’s government has pledged to improve health care infrastructure on the island to deal with any cases of coronavirus. Small businesses affected by the pandemic can count on subsidies.
In addition, the government wants to enter into a dialogue with the local population “to find a solution to the territorial conflict that has existed for more than 50 years”. Easter Island was annexed by Chile in 1880. But the majority of the local population, the Rapa Nui, would like to be independent.
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