Cruise tourism study provides market insight
THE Assessment of the Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism in Fiji provides key recommendations for the public and private sector to understand the cruise market better and to take the sector forward.
Minister for Industry and Trade, Premila Kumar said the assessment helped to determine ways to continue adding value by diversifying the tourism products and services over wider spectrum in Fiji with specific focus on port destinations that are still lagging behind.
She said the assessment would assist in improving the overall cruise experience, ensuring cruise visitors spend more onshore and with local service providers.
“With the successful conclusion of this study, we now know what the current economic benefits are, what it could be, and how it gets there,” she said.
“Over the last few decades, global demand for cruising has presented some significant benefits as well as its fair share of challenges.
“For Fiji in 2018, we recorded 187,890 cruise passengers which was approximately 2 per cent increase compared to 2017.
“In terms of the earning from cruise passengers, Fiji noted a record of $11.3 million in 2018 as compared to $10.4m in 2017, which is 9.4 per cent increase and the number of cruise vessels has also been increasing year-on-year.”
She said depending upon the size of the vessel, between 500 to 3000 tourists along with as many as 1000 crew members disembark at the multipurpose ports of entry in Suva and Lautoka each time a cruise vessel calls in.
“The private sector is the bigger beneficiary, receiving an estimated 70 per cent of the revenue from cruise tourism, with the Fijian Government getting 28 per cent,” she said.
“The study also reveals a strong correlation between cruise passenger satisfaction and spending.
“The more satisfied passengers are with the variety of things to see, do and purchase, the longer they stay onshore and the more they spend,” she said.