Light at end of Fiji tourism tunnel fades

THE prospects of a recovery for Fiji’s tourism industry are not looking good as the country grapples with a coronavirus surge, a Pacific tourism expert says.

Two people have died and the number of active cases has risen to 195 since the island nation’s second outbreak of Covid-19 started on April 18, this time involving the B.1.617.2 Indian variant.

On Friday, Fiji recorded its highest number of cases in a day, with 46 infections, as health officials predict even more cases in the days to come.

Massey University’s senior lecturer and associate professor in development studies, Api

Movono, believes Fiji’s tourism industry may not recover. ‘‘I definitely can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.’’

Fiji’s tourism operators were primed for a return of visitors this year. On the day of the second outbreak, Fiji would have reached 365 days without community transmission.

Tourism Fiji had organised an event in Nadi to celebrate the milestone, and Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was going to tell the world that Fiji was ready to welcome visitors again.

But the situation took a turn when a soldier and a hotel worker at an MIQ facility tested positive for the virus, the first case in an outbreak that health officials are struggling to contain.

Movono said many tourism operators barely survived the first wave and are now suffering yet another blow with lockdowns, containment restrictions, domestic travel bans and more curfews – in place since April.

Tourism contributes nearly 40 per cent to Fiji’s gross domestic product and employs about 150,000 people. Most of Fiji’s tourists come from nearby Australia and New Zealand.

The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association reported at least 279 hotels and resorts have been closed since the outbreak reached Fiji last year, causing more than 25,000 to lose their jobs.