5000 less visitors to Fiji in 2006
Fiji Live reports that about 5000 less visitors visited Fiji in 2006 compared to 2005, with a provisional breakdown of visitor arrivals released by www.south-pacific.travel, which markets and develops tourism in the South Pacific, shows that there were 545,168 visitors to Fiji in 2006 compared to 549,911 in 2005, a drop of 4743, or down by 0.9%.
With the latest coup taking pace on December 5 military coup, the reults do nto take into accout any post coup decline in visitors, with Fiji’s main tourism markets Australia and New Zealand intially having strong travel advisories against Fiji.
Fiji LIve says that the advisories which are still at level 3 are hurting Fiji’s tourism industry and have seen a decline in visitor arrival, forcing the industry to set up the Tourism Action Group (TAG) to promote and market the country in its key source markets, with the FVB announcing recently that the recovery campaign consumer advertising has been a failure.
www.south-pacific.travel CEO Tony Everitt says that provisional figures indicate that about 1.28 million people visited the region in 2006, up 3% on 2005, confirming tourism is on track to be a significant contributor to pillar 1 of the Pacific Plan economic growth, adding, “This modest growth demonstrates that overall our region’s reputation in key markets is robust, however, we cannot afford to be complacent”.
Everitt pointed out that some South Pacific destinations are having to work extra hard to attract visitors in 2007, saying, “We believe our industry has the potential to be contributing US$2 billion per annum to the region’s economy by 2010, but this will require a lot of hard work, commitment, and investment in product development and marketing by both the private and public sector”.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026