Visitor arrival to Fiji for 2018 were up by a record level of 3.3 per cent, an increase from 842, 884 to 870, 309.

This was revealed by a provision­al report released by the Fiji Bu­reau of Statistics.

According to the report, contrib­uting to the record level of visitor arrivals in 2018 were increases from the following countries:

-New Zealand (14,123 to 198,718)

-Japan (5,553 to 11,903)

-United States of America (4,877 to 86,075)

-Continental Europe (2,795 to 37,433)

-Rest of Asia (1,977 to 26,928)

-Canada (799 to 13,220)

-China (475 to 49,271)

-Other Countries (244 to 4,974).

Japan recorded the highest per­centage increase of 87.4 per cent due to the resumption of direct Fiji Airways flights between Nadi and Narita three times a week.

The report further stated that the monthly visitor numbers topped the 95,000 mark for the first time ever in July with 95,061 arrivals .

Visitor numbers from New Zea­land (198,718) and USA (86,075) were the highest ever in a given year.

Visitors arriving for holiday pur­poses totaled 658,585 (75.7 per cent), 80,441 (9.2 per cent) came to visit friends or relatives, 29,755 (3.4 per cent) came for business purposes while 101,528 (11.7per cent) visited Fiji for other reasons.

The provisional report showed a significant increases in the num­ber of visitors arriving for the fol­lowing purposes, visiting friends and relatives (by 5,949 to 80,441), for holiday (by 27,885 to 658,585).

December Visitors by Gender and Age

The majority of visitors to Fiji in December 2018 were in the age range 25-64 (62.9 per cent), which accounts for the vast majority of the working age population.

Other figures:

-Children aged 14 and below ac­counted for 17.4 per cent of the De­cember visitor arrivals

-13.4 per cent were youths aged 15-24

-6.3 per cent comprising those in the predominantly retirement age group of 65 and over.

The Bureau of Statistics stated that December visitors by occu­pation for the month of Decem­ber 2018 the top five occupational groups for visitors engaged in gainful employment in their home countries are as follows

-Professional workers increased by 521 or 3.4 per cent to 15,954

-Craft workers increased by 397 or 10.8 per cent to 4,061

-Technician and related workers – increased by 280 or 3.7 per cent to 7,750

-Service workers decreased by 1,049 or 18.9 per cent to 4,493 and nLegislators decreased by 122 or 1.2 per cent to 9,829.

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