So, where does Fiji go from here?

Over the last few years, Fiji has emerged as very much a tourism hot spot in the South Pacific welcoming over half a million visitors in both 2004 and 2005, with this growth in visitation underpinned by the public’s perception of Fiji as a ‘safe heaven’ in contrast to other near-regional destinations that suffered tourism downturns due to terrorism activity. 

However as we all know, 2006 was a difficult year for Fiji’s tourism industry as a result of re-emerging political unrest, yet with several large-scale resorts currently under construction, the future success of Fiji is dependent on continuous growth in tourism visitation. 

Total Number of Visitors to Fiji – 1994-2005

Note: the 2004 visitor arrival numbers have been released provisionally by the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, while the 2005 numbers are estimates from the Fiji Visitors Bureau. 

Official data for 2006 is not yet available.

Source: Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics/Fiji Visitors Bureau

Fiji is still considered a tourism hot spot in the South Pacific, now benefiting from new tourism infrastructure including a growing airline network as well as further openings of accommodation products and although Fiji has been affected by several relatively (on a global scale) minor political and civilian disturbances in the past few decades, tourism arrivals have returned following times of unrest and have recorded steady growth year upon year.

That said, the political events of 2006 have raised concerns of another setback for Fiji’s tourism industry as reports indicate that visitor arrivals, and demand for hotel accommodation, declined in the months leading to the December 5 coup, however, the reactivation of the Tourism Action Group soon after the event combined with aggressive marketing and promotional campaigns appear to have been relatively effective over the Christmas period.

While HVS International acknowledges that Fiji’s tourism prospects, particularly in the short to medium term future are dependent upon the extent of the current political tensions in the country and the implications this could have on forward bookings for local hotels and resorts, tourism stakeholders appear determined to achieve visitation and earnings growth targeted for 2007. 

This united front may yet result in lessening the negative impact of the coup on visitation and enable Fiji’s tourism industry to recover more rapidly than before.

Forecasts for Visitor Arrivals to Fiji by FVB and HVS International 2005/2010

Source: HVS International/FVB

We expect the opening of several large-scale resorts in the coming years to provide both challenges and opportunities to Fiji, with the significant increase in supply likely to negatively impact on the performance levels of individual properties, the introduction of additional international hotel operators combined with the marketing effort of FVB may also result in a substantial increase in visitation to the country.

Forecast Annualized Occupancy Levels in Fiji – December 2005 – December 2009

The horizontal axis runs from Dec 05 to Dec 09 and the vertical from 52% to 66%.

Source: Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics/HVS International

The final picture as it emerges for Fiji over coming months and years, will be very interesting to observe.

A report by The Mole provided by Sophie Cottom, senior analyst at industry specialists HVS International in Sydney