Eight cruise ships are expected to visit Fiji in the next two months. They will bring more than 2000 tourists per ship.

Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Brent Hill said the first 2000 tourists would be on board the first ship to Suva on September 9.

Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Shaheen Ali said he was glad that the cruise ships had already started their journey to Fiji.

Mr Ali acknowledged all the stakeholders including the Border Protection Agency in particular.

“We want to ensure that when cruise tourism resumes, it resumes safely and in a sustainable manner,” he said.

“We have partnered with cruise operators, international cruise operators to ensure that element of sustainability is there – that we again have a duty of care for our visitors coming here in the same respect we also have citizens as well and ensure that cruise operators continue in a manner that is safe for everyone and creating that Fijian tourism brand, which has safety associated with it.”

Mr Ali said the momentum would build up in the last quarter of this calendar year and also next year. Speaking from a Fiji Ports Corporation perspective, Mr Ali said they were glad that cruise ships were coming to Fiji because another form of revenue is through ports fees and charges that they collect when cruise ship sit the country.

Meanwhile, the tentative schedules for the cruise ships are as follows:

• Coral Princess and Carnival Splendor are due to arrive in Suva in September and will be the first cruise ships to dock in Suva.

Six more cruise ships will follow in October.

• Le Paul Gauguin will dock in Savusavu, Suva, Beqa, Lautoka.
• Silver Explorer will stop at Nabukeru, Lautoka, Levuka, Leleuvia, Lomaloma, Fulaga.
• Grand Princess will dock in Suva.
• Westerdam will visit Dravuni, Suva, Lautoka
• Pacific Explorer will call Dravuni and Lautoka.
• Zuiderdam will visit Suva and Dravuni.

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