Easter weekend hive of activity for businesses all around, shows high disposable income
The Easter weekend proved to be one where there was a lot of activity in the economy as far as consumer spending is concerned.
If you are from the Central Division, naturally you would have had faced problems finding a parking spot, particularly at Damodar City. A major contributing factor of course was the release of the film Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice which saw cinemas running with most sessions sold out. Damodar Group chief executive, Div Damodar said this was a clear indication that there was a lot of spend in the economy. He said it was not just through cinemas but across the various sectors of the economy including food and beverages, shopping etc.
“This shows that generally people are very confident with the economy. We see families coming out late to Damodar City, having dinners, lunch and doing shopping,” he said. “This clearly shows we are coming back on a growth path very soon. What RBF and Ministry of Finance are indicating with numbers, these are very positive and true because physically you can see that.” And Mr Damodar said this therefore makes perfect sense for them to start investment in their new multimillion-dollar integrated tourism and shopping project in Raiwaqa.
More disposable income Meanwhile, Fijian Holdings Group chief executive, Nouzab Fareed, shared similar sentiments. Fijian Holdings Group owns Life Cinemas in Nadi and also noted positive figures. Mr Fareed, generally speaking said all cinemas, both Life and Damodar, were full for all movies and was generally because of Easter. He said this was an indication that there is a lot of disposable income with so many people eating, drinking, spending and enjoy the long Easter weekend with their family and friends. He said the resorts were very well-booked as well as there were hardly any rental cars available which showed the extent of spending by people. Mr Fareed said this was all a good sign. It indeed shows that Government’s dream of putting more money in the pockets of ordinary Fijians is being realised.
This shows that generally people are very confident with the economy. We see families coming out late to Damodar City, having dinners, lunch, doing shopping
Div Damodar
Damodar Group CEO