Hotels Hope
Domestic tourism brings some work: Lockington
Seventy-four tourism operators are open around the country, but swimming pools are out of bounds, the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) said.
Chief executive Fantasha Lockington however warned that the number of tourism operators opened was likely to dwindle.
The latest tally, provided by Tourism Fiji, include properties that have occupancy in two rooms, while others have between 10 to 30 rooms occupied, she said in response to queries from SunBiz.
“Those with more rooms occupied tend to be hotels in Nadi that are assisting with the Ministry of Health’s mandatory quarantine period post arrival into Fiji.”
Mrs Lockington said most properties would have temporarily closed during the initial closure and lockdown period, but may have opened to manage the post cyclone clean-up or to provide the usual Mother’s Day weekend specials.
Local response
FHTA understands that some hotels have chosen not to close straight after the departure of their last guests, while others maintain a small section of rooms based on domestic demand, she said.
“Locals have slowly responded to the domestic specials that were made available, which was evident this past weekend for Mother’s Day, even though there was great disappointment that swimming pools are on the restricted list.”
While the demand was lower, it allowed more hotel workers a chance to access work, even on a rotational schedule, Mrs Lockington said.
A recent study by The Pacific Community The Economic and Social Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Pacific Island Economies
stated that in 2019, 47.8 per cent of Fiji’s total employment was in the service industry. Mrs Lockington said: “Adjusting with an estimation for 2019 figures, we calculate that there are around 86,000 workers in our service industry who have been hit hard by the pandemic, for which tourism is not expected to rebound until much later this year or even next year, and even then with far lower visitor numbers expected.”
Mrs Lockington said the report noted that significant increases in basic needs hardship was to be expected.
Subsequently, the domestic tourism was sustainable going forward and would provide some relief for workers in the service industry.?
“As Fiji considers winding down its medical emergency levels, all business owners hope that with any phased easing of restrictions, some clear guidelines are provided to them to enable preparations for safe reopening.”