Lautoka City was bustling with life last Wednesday with the arrival of the Explorer of the Seas at the Sugar City Port.
City Chambers of Commerce Chairman Pyara Singh said it was good to see that Lautoka was slowly blooming in the tourism sector.
Mr Singh said there was still a need for business in Lautoka to contribute to the tourism industry.
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“Lautoka is one city that has a lot benefits when it comes to attracting tourist, it is close to the sea the scenery is beautiful and Nadi Airport is closeby,” he said.
“Tourists are able to transit back and forth.
“It very good that Lautoka port is also contributing to the tourism industry as one of the stopovers for cruise ships, seeing that there is one in port at least every two weeks.
“Business houses in Lautoka need to improve theirservices and make their shops more attractive to draw in tourists.
“To have more than 3000 tourists coming to Lautoka at one time is a boost to their takings and beneficial to many sections from artifact sellers to tour guides.”
Mr Singh has confirmed that they have future plans to make the Lautoka port more attractive for tourists, by bringing in bands and entertainers to welcome and bid farewell to tourists.
Explorer of the Seas is a Bahamian cruise ship owned and operated by the Royal Caribbean International. It has a total gross tonne of 138,194, length 311.12m, maximum breadth of 47.44m and maximum draft 8.80m.
According to Fiji Ports Corporation Limited the ship was traveling from Port Villa, Vanuatu and arrived in Suva on February 28th. It left for Sydney the next day, March 1.
The shipped arrived with 3478 passengers and 1255 crew members.
The ship was built in 2000 and was last refurbished in 2015.
Explorer of the Seas was also in Suva last month.
