The tourism industry surpassed expectations earning $2.09 billion (US$1.045 billion) between April and December 2022 with majority of the 587,406 holiday makers coming from Australia, New Zealand and United States, the Fiji 2022 Annual International Visitor Survey (IVS) revealed.
Tourists spent the most on accommodation, totaling $801 million (US$400.5 million) or 38 percent of total earnings. International and domestic airfares earned $427 million (US$213.5 million) or 42.7 percent of tourism revenue while tourists spent $148 million (US$74 million) on restaurants and bars, particularly through meals included in pre-paid packages.
The 2022 IVS Report, a collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the International Finance Corporation, with support from the Government of Australia now includes disaggregated data for Vanua Levu and Taveuni, as well as benchmarking of visitor perceptions on accessibility for disabled persons or persons with limited mobility and Fiji’s sustainable travel practices.
Amidst the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that brought travel and tourism to a complete standstill in 2020, the IVS remains committed to offering crucial insights that will contribute significantly to the country’s recovery efforts.
“In 2022, Fiji witnessed a remarkable recovery, with a 71 percent increase in tourist numbers since the reopening of our borders. We’ve seen for the first half of this year; we are breaking month on month records compared to 2019 levels. It is our hope that the IVS Report will serve as a benchmark for both the Government and the industry to measure our performance and take the information to make more informed policy and business decisions,” stated the Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Salaseini Daunabuna.
The report contains information such as purpose of visit, visitor demography, average nights spent in Fiji, booking and travel trends, expenditure as well as top activities and regions visited.
“Tourism is the pulse of Fiji, providing jobs and supporting livelihoods, as well as being the largest revenue earner for the economy. Supporting tourism and the many businesses that rely on the sector is critical to ensuring sustainable economic growth in Fiji into the future,” said Judith Green, IFC Country Manager for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
“The IVS report is also critical. It not only provides insights that will assist tourism stakeholders to make data driven decisions to improve visitor expectations and experiences, but will also boost Fiji’s competitiveness as a tourist destination.”
The IVS Report is an online survey, using an enhanced methodology and increased sample size from the previous IVS. This has reduced the relative margin of error for spend and gives a better representation of visitors to Fiji.
Going forward, the Ministry will continue work on its current IVS to provide more robust and timely data to stakeholders.
SOURCE: IFC/FIJI GOVT/PACNEWS
