Tourism Fiji commenced its annual Roadshow on Friday 5th February 2016 in the city of Chennai, India.  This year the emphasis is on creating awareness on the Singapore launch of direct flights to commence on Tuesday 5th April 2016.  The Roadshow will conclude on Saturday 13 February and will include the six (6) cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Kolkata.

The week-long Roadshow is being led by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Honorable Faiyaz Siddiq Koya and includes the participation of government officials, Tourism Fiji, Fiji Airways, Rosie Holidays, Tour Managers, Pacific Destinations, The Pearl South Pacific Resort, Mana Island Resort & Spa, and Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa. The core role of the Roadshows are to educate our travel partners on destination Fiji.

Plans

In opening the Roadshow, Minister Koya emphasized the importance of India to Tourism Fiji’s long-term strategy to boost visitor arrivals.  Also, India is central to Fiji’s plan to expand into non-traditional markets as it has been identified as having great growth potential which will further be realized with the newly introduced Fiji Airways direct flight to Singapore in April.

This was seen to be the biggest impediment to developing the Indian tourism market after previous roadshows.

There is such great potential for growth in the Indian market as Fiji is able to provide unique experiential products available in Fiji for every type of visitor.  Past year activities in the market have contributed significantly to the increased visitor arrivals this year which will growth further with more investment in branding activities and the combined efforts of our trade partners.

Therefore in exploring the Indian market, the Fiji delegation during the course of the next few days, via the Roadshow, will promote our diverse range of products that make Fiji unique and the destination every Indian tourist should visit.  The year will see the inclusion of two new cities namely Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

Minister Koya attributed the Fijian people as the key element for Fiji apart from the pristine environment, beautiful sandy beaches and diverse culture.

He stated that our people are what sets us apart as we still maintain our distinct culture in dress, language and culinary habits. Our genuine hospitality and infectious nature spreads the happiness bug and promotes our tagline of ‘Fiji – Where Happiness Finds You’.

About the roadshow

Last year, the Roadshow saw the participation of over 450 travel and tourism stakeholders, which was an increase from previous years and a positive indication of the allure that destination Fiji holds for the Indian traveller.

This first day has also shown an incredible increase with around 100 participants visiting the roadshow in Chennai alone and with such a great start record numbers are sure to soar.

The Roadshow also follows Fiji’s participation in the three-day SATTE event in New Delhi, which ended on Sunday 31st January, 2016. Minister Koya noted that although visitor arrivals from India may be small in comparison to the traditional Fijian tourism markets, it yields very highly for us. The India market continues to register steady growth and events such as the Roadshow serve to ensure that all roads lead to Fiji.

The India Roadshow is an annual Tourism Fiji event that has been hosted for the past five years and looks forward to continued growth going forward.

Source: Ministry of industry, trade and tourism

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