Trips ‘back home’

VISITING friends and relatives (VFR) made up 10.3 per cent of short-term arrivals to Fiji in 2019.

According to ANZ’s Pacific Insight, Long-term migration of Fijians to New Zealand, Australia, the US and Canada has created a significant Fijian diaspora which has increased the number of trips ‘back home’ to visit friends and families in Fiji.

It said the VFR was the first segment to recover strongly once Fiji’s border opened on December 1, 2021.

It added that VFR arrivals were expected to return to near 2019 demand in the near term but to gather steam towards the end of year, when longer school holidays begin, and families travel to Fiji for reunions leading up to the festive season.

With Fiji’s other key tourism markets recently easing travel pre-conditions, visitor numbers from these countries are set to add to the visitor numbers.

The US and New Zealand have both dropped the requirement to produce a negative COVID test for all inbound travellers, which should set up a recovery in these markets.

According to statistics provided by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, in 2019, they accounted for 33.9 per cent of all arrivals.

Fiji, being a hub for the South Pacific, hosted a number of international conferences and events prior to the pandemic.

Climate change conventions, peak business council forums and sporting events featured throughout the year.

With freer movement of people across most of the world, these in-person events should resume and see Fiji attract more short-term arrivals in this segment.