Industry stakeholders to work together
REGULAR consultations by Tourism Fiji with stakeholders has revealed that consumer confidence in travel is currently really low prompting the organisations to focus on removing this uncertainty for those considering a holiday to Fiji.
In an update on COVID-19, Tourism Fiji stated that to do this our national carrier, Fiji Airways, along with hotel partners and ground operators are offering flexible and relaxed booking policies, removing change fees to restore confidence in travel to Fiji.
Tourism Fiji stated that in addition, some of their activities and events had also been impacted.
“One event that we have received a lot of enquiries about is understandably Fijian Tourism Expo.
“It's our signature trade event for Fiji and we are optimistic that we can still deliver a great event to bring together our buyers and sellers at this important time. We are monitoring the situation closely and will be giving regular updates in the lead-up to the event.”
The organisation highlighted that it had been a challenging week with the COVID-19 continuing to spread, which led the World Health Organisation to declare a pandemic on March 12.
It said Fiji had responded quickly to put measures in place to contain the virus including travel restrictions for all foreign nationals who have visited mainland China, Italy, Iran and South Korea within 14 days of their intended travel to Fiji with all cruise ships entering Fiji being required to make first berth at ports in Suva or Lautoka, where passengers on board would undergo medical and travel history checks.
The organisation also highlighted that with the situation changing on a daily basis with Tourism Fiji continuing to navigate a path through this global disruption and given that it’s more than ever that stakeholders work together to stay aligned with the strategies, its regular consultations with the Ministry of Industry Trade and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, SOFTA, Fiji Airways and FHTA have been invaluable for this.