Fiji’s Gounder says review travel ban
Tourism Action Group chairman Damend Gounder says that it is not a good idea for the Interim Government to ban most of the Australian and New Zealand politicians from travelling to Fiji, saying that the ban that which included Prime Ministers of both countries Helen Clark and John Howard were far-fetched’
He said “It was a far fetched implication because the two were leaders of their respective countries” adding, “What if they want to come to the country and talk about aid issues?” We hope that the ban would be removed by then,” he said.
He added the he wanted everyone to be welcomed into the country so they could experience the hospitality and friendship of the people in the country, saying the people in the country would always welcome tourism with open arms and hoped the Interim Government would not change that atmosphere.
“Tourists have their own individual or family itinerary of visiting the country and they would not be really affected by this ban and we hope to achieve the billion dollar mark by the end of this year,” he said.
Fiji Visitor Bureau chief executive officer Viliame Gavoka said the tourism industry has always been urged to preserve culture and to promote quiet diplomacy, adding, “We just want to encourage engagement in quiet diplomacy between the two countries and Fiji”.
He added, probably this would have an effect on the travel advisory but that was to be seen and they had started their move on quiet diplomacy as stated by the interim administration and things have been going on well with the two countries.
On Friday, Immigration Director Commander Viliame Naupoto revealed the ban on most Australian and New Zealand politicians and although he has refused to release names on other politicians, a reliable source said that NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has also been banned from entering Fiji.
The source said that reasons for the black list against the politicians were because of continuous comments against the interim Government
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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