SUVA: International tourists to Fiji have increased tenfold. In the first quarter of this year, Fiji welcomed more than 48,000 overseas visitors, an increase of more than tenfold over the same quarter in 2021.

Minister for Tourism Faiyaz Koya said on Monday that the island nation had welcomed 72,132 visitors since the borders were reopened in December last year amid the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the Fijivillage news website.
This was good news, he said, because Fiji was on course to reclaim a chunk of its market share, with about 30-35 percent of its 2019 figures already captured. He stated that because it is the peak Christmas season, the Fijian government expects these numbers to rise, and that they are already witnessing near-pre-Covid levels of occupancy across some of the main brands, with some reporting record sales and profits.

He claimed that the average occupancy in the last week of April this year was 4% higher than in the same week last year, and that room occupancy was back to pre-pandemic levels last week after a two-year hiatus. He went on to say that they have worked closely with the Ministry of Health to support the in-country testing system and create a private sector-wide network of testing centres.  From July of this year, Fiji Airways began flying direct to Adelaide, Australia, bringing more South Australian tourists to Fiji.

According to the Minister, there are more than 55 town and city testing centres, as well as more than 170 Care Fiji Commitment approved hotels and resorts with testing facilities available to all guests.

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