Consider Fiji’s tourism, hospitality industries
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian investors should leverage Fiji’s tourism and hospitality industry by exploring the opportunities provided in the market, says Fiji High Commissioner to Malaysia, Kolinio Takali.
“I want to see more Malaysian investors in Fiji. While there is heavy Malaysian presence in Fiji in the retail, finance and construction industries, they should strongly considerourtourismandhospitality industry,” he told Bernama in an exclusive interview at the high commission here recently.
He was speaking in conjunction with Fiji’s 48th Independence Day celebration.
Takali said the existing warm bilateral relations between Suva and Kuala Lumpur would be the best platform for local investors to also penetrate into the number of business opportunities across different sectors linked to the industry, apart from just being a
AirAsia determined to keep airfares low despite rising oil prices I want to see more Malaysian investors in Fiji. While there is heavy Malaysian presence in Fiji in the retail, finance and construction industries, they should strongly consider our tourism and hospitality industry. Kolinio Takali, Fiji High Commissioner to Malaysia
LONDON: AirAsia’s collaboration with Google Cloud will enable the budget airline to reinvent its business model to drive revenue and keep airline ticket prices low, amid rising trend in oil prices.
AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said no matter how efficient airlines are, the main constraint is rising oil prices.
“We want more people to fly and to keep airline tickets low. This means we have to find ways to cover costs by using new platforms to drive revenue from other ancillary services such as hotel bookings and deals,” he said on the first day of the Google Cloud Next’18 conference and industry exhibition here Wednesday.
The Google Cloud Next’18 is a two-day global event taking place in London from Oct 1011, a platform for industry experts to share innovation and experiences in cloud computing.
Fernandes emphasised that with Google Cloud technology, AirAsia could leverage on a new platform to sell not just airline tickets but to further expand opportunities in other ancillary services.
“By building on the digital business, we can monetise our data and customer base,” he said.
He said AirAsia had already built a strong customer base through its website.
“AirAsia’s website has attracted over 30 million visitors a month, where they would buy flight tickets and all related services,” he added.
He stressed that in a very challenging airline industry, AirAsia is still able to grow, after having started 17 years ago with two planes, to 250 planes currently. — Bernama traditional holiday market.
“If current growth rates are maintained and using current hotel stock numbers, this would equate to an additional demand of approximately 4,000 rooms by 2025.
“Opportunities also exist within the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) facilities and special interest segments such as sports tourism and yachting,” he said, noting that tourism sector was currently the largest foreign exchange earner of the island nation in the South Pacific.
For 2017, Fiji’s earnings from tourism stood at US$1.8 billion, increasing by 12.3 per cent as compared to the 2016 figure of about US$1.6 billion.
To date, Takali noted a successful Malaysian company in Fiji in the tourism field, the Shangri-La hotel, operating as Shangri-La Fijian Resort and Spa.
The resort has been consistently voted by Australia’s leading Holiday with Kids magazine as ‘The Best Family Resort’ in Fiji for the last seven years.
On the same note, the envoy pointed out Fiji’s strategic location as market access in the Pacific islands that should be utilised for the purpose of supplying products and services to the rest of the Pacific.
“Being the ‘hub of the Pacific’, Fiji is a strategic shipment and re-export centre for cargo traded amongst the Pacific island states.
“We are also in the process of establishing a Special Economic Zone catered to light manufacturing and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) industry to enable investors to set up operations in a timely and cost-effective manner,” he said.
Currently, there are 18 Malaysian companies that have established businesses in Fiji, with another 12 yet to begin operations.
The18establishedbusinesseshave invested a total of US$58.5 million for the projects in Fiji covering various sectors which include construction, services and wholesale & retail and manufacturing.
Fiji’s relations with Malaysia continues to flourish from the days of the Malayan Emergency to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1977.
Having gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji is a country made up of over 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. — Bernama