Fijian operators relieved by State committment
Fiji’s tourism stakeholders have welcomed the Interim Government’s decision to support plans to help revive the industry.
At its meeting on Tuesday, Cabinet approved a request by the industry to provide an additional $3.8million to the Fiji Visitors Bureau to fund the industry’s marketing recovery plan.
FVB chief executive officer Viliame Gavoka said the support came in two ways, adding, “Firstly the $3.8million to TAG (Tourism Action Group) to help recover tourism quickly and secondly, the $15million to see the FVB carry out all its marketing program for the year”.
“If we do both the TAG and FVB programs well, we are confident of having recovered tourism significantly by year-end,” he said.
He said the TAG funding of $3.8million would be for phase two of overseas marketing campaigns beginning next week for travel from April to June. “This calls for saturation coverage in the two main markets of Australia and New Zealand and heightened PR activities in North America, UK, Europe, Japan and Korea,” Mr Gavoka said.
He also said that in addition to the marketing campaigns, there would be task forces who would reassure their partners in the key markets, together with the hosting of hundreds of media and travel personnel to sample Fiji, following in the footsteps of TravelMole who had the first journo go Fiji after the coup!!
He said these would be largely funded from the contributions made by the business houses in Fiji.
Cabinet’s decision was based on a submission by the Interim Minister for Tourism Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau.
Mrs Rounds-Ganilau said the timing of implementing the tourism industry recovery strategy components was essential, adding, “There is a need to aggressively promote now to be able to sustain our visitor arrivals, foreign exchange earnings and employment levels by the next tourism seasons March-October,” she said.
The 2007 target for visitor arrivals has been revised down to 514,000 with an estimated tourism receipt of $888.1 million.
TAG chairman Damend Gounder said the group welcomed Cabinet’s decision to support the marketing campaign.
Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto said the $3.8million would help in the second phase of the marketing effort. He said phase two would target Australia and New Zealand and the other major markets for Fiji.
He said the industry was certain that after the second phase the industry should see an increase in terms of visitors’ arrivals and foreign exchange earnings.
The FVB re-activated TAG in a bid to revive the industry following the slump in visitor arrivals after the military takeover in December last year
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