143,399 TOURISTS FROM JAN TO MAY

The Fijian economy is on the path to recovery after being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years.

The recovery is fuelled primarily by the resumption of international tourism and the significant easing of pandemic-related restrictions.

Since the re-opening of borders in December last year, visitor arrivals have increased steadily. In the year to May, tourist arrivals totalled 143,399 visitors, equivalent to 44.6 percent of the arrivals recorded in the same period in 2019. For the month of May, the number of arrivals was close to two-thirds of that recorded in May 2019. Arrivals from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States dominate the tourism market, accounting for 91.7 percent of visitors in the first five months of the year.

In terms of popularity, Fiji is amongst the most preferred destination for Australia and New Zealand tourists since they opened their borders for outbound travel. Furthermore, feedback from the tourism industry reveals that hotel occupancy rates and revenue per available room are increasing rapidly, with some hotels performing better than the comparable period in 2019. The impressive recovery in the tourism industry has boosted economic sentiments and has subsequently spilled over to aggregate demand.

Partial consumption indicators such as Value Added Tax (VAT), consumption lending, and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) collections, along with inward personal remittances and total vehicle registrations, have noted annual gains so far this year.