Tourism Minister says Fiji’s tourism Industry will look at new alliances
A report in the Fiji Times says that strained relations between Fiji and its trans-Tasman neighbours will not deter plans to continue marketing efforts, says Fiji’s interim Tourism Minister Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau.
She said once funding was approved, marketing would resume in New Zealand and Australia, adding, “We will continue marketing once we have funds to Australia and New Zealand as visitors from both countries are still coming in to Fiji”.
Mrs Rounds-Ganilau said the industry would also look at new alliances such as Dubai and China, saying, “It is my observation that the tourism sector, relative to the sector’s importance to the economy, has been accorded a lower priority to governments and we continue to fight for its recognition now”.
Mrs Rounds-Ganilau said the sector was seen to have a strong marketing focus, yet there were shortcomings in tourism knowledge and understanding and the calibre of professionalism at ministerial level, contributing to the weak linkages between ministries and relevant agencies.
“Such lack of understanding and weak linkages between agencies makes policy implementation difficult and doomed to fail,” she said.
She said while the aim was to stimulate growth and rural employment and so improve income flow, the emphasis on tourism development “demands a much more coordinated effort throughout all levels of society”.
Mrs Rounds-Ganilau said tourism development in Fiji had largely been a lost opportunity and would remain so if tourism was not recognised as a tradeable service that brings in substantial amounts of foreign exchange and generates employment.
“And bring much needed investment and development when Fiji faces crisis in its primary and secondary sectors,” she said.
Report by The Mole and The Fiji Times
John Alwyn-Jones
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