This is an informative publication, sponsored by The Fiji Sun, Fiji Bureau of Statistics and HFC Bank. All views expressed or implied are purely of the Financial Markets Analyst at the HFC Bank, Shoran Devi.

International visitor arrivals to Fiji have shown steady growth in the past few decades. Tourism contributes significantly to Fiji’s economy. Tourism industry’s combined direct and indirect contributions to GDP averages above 30.0 percent and the industry provides direct and indirect employment to an estimated 45,000 people.

Provisional numbers show that 76,598 visitors arrived into the country in June 2017. The number was a record for the month of June and represents an increase of 4.8 per cent compared to a year earlier.

There were increases in the number of visitors from the following countries:

 New Zealand increased by 1,757 or 10.4% to 18,590

 the United States of America increased by 966 or 11.8% to 9,167

 Rest of Asia up by 291 or 16.1% to 2,098

 China increased by 139 or 3.9% to 3,712

 Pacific Islands up by 126 or 3.1% to 4,152

 the United Kingdom up by 110 or 8.1% to 1,465

 Canada increased by 103 or 13.5% to 865

 South Korea up by 87 or 13.5% to 733

 and Australia up by 37 or 0.1% to 32,833

However, decreases were recorded in the number of visitors from:

 Other Countries down by 55 or 17.4% to 262

 Continental Europe down by 41 or 1.7% to 2,314

 and Japan down by 34 or 7.7% to 407

Visitors arriving for holiday purposes accounted for 75.6% of total arrivals, 9.4% came to visit their friends or relatives, 2.9% came for business purposes, while 12.1% visited Fiji for other reasons.

In the moving twelve monthly numbers ending June 2017, the total number of visitors to Fiji increased by 6.0% compared with the same period in 2016.

Visitors from:

 Rest of Asia increased by [30.7%]

 New Zealand [16.5%]

 South Korea [16.0%]

 The United States of America [11.5%]

 China and the United Kingdom both [9.9%]

 Continental Europe [6.9%]

 Japan [4.6%]

 Pacific Islands [2.9%]

 Canada [0.6%].

Decreases were recorded for visitors from Other Countries [13.5%] and Australia [0.4%].

January to June visitor arrivals 2017, showed a 6.6% increase over the corresponding period in 2016, up from 349,709 to 372,686.

A graphical comparison of visitor arrivals by country during the period January to June 2017 and 2016 is provided in Figure 2.

The majority of visitors to Fiji in June 2017 were in the age range 25-64 (63.4%), which accounts for the vast majority of the working age population.

Children aged 14 and below accounted for 16.3% of the June visitor arrivals; 11.9% were youths aged 15-24 with the remaining 8.4% comprising those in the predominantly retirement age group of 65 and over.

Looking at the occupation of visitors in the month of June, the top 5 Occupational Groups for visitors engaged in gainful employment in their home countries are as follows:

 Professional Workers – 14,335

 Legislators – 10,567

 Technician and Related Workers – 7,249

 Service Workers – 6,010

 Craft Workers – 3,387

Visitors who are not in the labour force were categorised into two major groups. The categories and numbers are as follows:

 Students – 15,389

 Retirees, Housewives, Children & Others – 14,706

Over the years, the tourism industry has become Fiji’s largest source of foreign exchange earnings in comparison to earnings from other traditional industries such as sugar, fisheries, garments and forestry.

However, measuring the total size and output of the tourism industry is not as straightforward as measuring output from the other industries.

The direct contribution of tourism to Fiji’s GDP is measured through the accommodation & food services activities sector.

Findings from the Quarter 1, 2017 survey of Licensed Hotels, Resorts and Lodging Houses compared to Quarter 1, 2016, shows that the number of Rooms Sold increased by 5.9% (22,776).

The RoomOccupancy Rate increased by 1.0 percentage points to 46.0%.

Takings from Accommodation, Sales of Food, Liquor, Telephone and Other Miscellaneous Charges totalled $179.4 million, an increase of 6.4%.

Similarly, paid employment in the Hotel Sector increased by 9.7%.

Last year, tourism earnings amounted to around $1.6 billion, equivalent to 16.0 percent of GDP and continues to be one of the largest revenue earner and employer in Fiji.