Room occupancy rate increases

Room occupancy rates marked a gradual ascent last year, indicatng a robust growth, the Bureau of Statistics said in its January report on holiday statistics. The increase in room occupancy rate reflected a healthy sign of growth for Fiji’s tourism industry and big business opportunities for current hotel and resort operators, the bureau said.

Over the past 10 years, room occupancy rates and overall takings marked a steady growth, the industry said.

The corresponding data for 2018 indicated a decline by 0.59 per cent, the bureau said.

Factor - visitors decline

“An important factor in the decline is due to visitors returning to their home country after a holiday season from December to February,” the bureau said.

February has less number of days compared to other months of the year, the bureau said. The third quarter always marks a peak in occupancy, the bureau said.

Overall takings

“This is due to the warm tropical climate season in Fiji which is from late March to early December, attracting visitors from New Zealand, Australia and nearby Pacific Island countries,” the bureau said.

Overall takings continued to rise by as much as 7.7 per cent to stand at $309.8 million for the third quarter of last year, the bureau said.

Seasonal overall takings stood at $384.1million for the second quarter of last year, the bureau said.

The trend also secured the tourism sector as a key driver of economic development in Fiji, the bureau said.

Of the 980,917 rooms that were available, 556,371 were sold.

There were over 2.2 million beds available of which 1.1 million were sold, the bureau pointed out.

The majority of occupancy was covered by overseas travelers, the bureau said.