Tourism an important factor
DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Viliame Gavoka believes while an upsurge in hotel bookings is a huge boost for the Fijian economy, there is some concern over whether the industry is able to cater for the increase in visitor arrivals.
There will be joy over the announcement as we slowly work our way over the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.
Mr Gavoka is concerned the industry may not be able to cater for the increase expected in 2023.
After recent consultations with tourism stakeholders in the Western Division and forecasts that the first quarter arrivals would be the best in Fiji’s history, he noted there was a real need for more resorts and hotels. There is a momentum that has been building for Fiji, he said, and that’ll carry us through this year.
He highlighted a speech by the Minister of Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, on Thursday about the economy and indications that tourism would be the saviour for Fiji for 2023 and 2024.
“We will banking on tourism and further down the line the other sectors of the economy will kick in but immediately tourism is saving Fiji,” Mr Gavoka said.
He believes the peaceful transition of government after the 2022 General Election could be a contributing factor to the positive forecast.
He noted there was going to be an increase in airline seats coming to Fiji with Fiji Airways adding additional flights.
“The concern is to marry that with the accommodation and inventory on the ground. We are talking about seats versus beds. Everyone is feeling very confident about 2023 so much so that some of the hotels are forecasting for the first quarter to be the best ever in their history. The first quarter from January to March is normally the difficult period for business but here we are having the hotels and the airlines saying that they have never seen the kind of bookings that they have in their books today.”
This is great news!
In fact the roll-on effects are positive, and many, should this trend continue.
Factor in industries connected to tourism. Factor in the domestic economy, and the positive impact on employment for instance.
Factor in small businesses that once relied on tourism dollars until COVID-19 struck!
Factor in the local vegetable farmers, the suppliers, cabbies, bus drivers, tour operators, handicraft makers and sellers, and the list goes on.
It makes sense then that we should be united in moving our nation forward.
We have the latest variant of COVID-19 here. So it pays to adhere strictly to safety measures.
Then there is the bit about challenging ourselves to place value on raising the profile of our nation as a beautiful, peaceful and safe destination, with fun-loving, friendly people with big Bula smiles!
■ roads. Drunkards asleep on footpaths is always a sorry sight. This is no joke. Some days it is quite scary and intimidating going to buy early morning daily bread before 6am.
Closing bars at 1am is late enough, in my view. Go home and finish drinking there, if you need to. Stay off our roads and streets before the sun rises. Save a valuable dollar for food for the suffering family members. Many of our patrons cannot drink responsibly. Let us be more pro-active in our decision making. It is not only about increasing business for such business owners. Let us be more responsible for the balanced good of all — patrons and their families.
RONNIE CHANG Martintar, Nadi