The Business End

AWAY FROM THE flora and fauna of these islands, the South Pacific is primed for economic development, something that the World Bank has been looking to facilitate of late after opening its new South Pacific hub office in Suva, Fiji in March 2019.

Much like the World Bank, South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is actively promoting economic development in the region, particularly pushing for expansion of its tourism sector in recent years – a strategy that continues to pay dividends, evident in recent results.

“The performance of the tourism industry in the Pacific region remained upbeat in 2018,” explains Christopher Cocker, CEO of SPTO. “The number of tourists travelling to the region by flights rose to 2.14 million, marking a two percent increase compared with 2017’s figures.

“What’s more, when you include the year’s cruise arrivals that totalled one million, total visitor arrivals to the South Pacific reached 3.2 million in 2018, 1.3 percent up from 3.1 million in 2017.

“Consistent with the increasing number of arrivals, tourism earnings also trended upward, recording an estimated $4 billion – up from an estimated $3.7 billion in 2017.”