Untapped provinces offer tourism potential: Tourism Fiji

Tourism Fiji is encouraging investors to look beyond the country's traditional tourism centres, arguing that greater development in other provinces can spread tourism revenue, unlock new attractions and reduce infrastructure pressures in established destinations.

Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Paresh Pant said while three of Fiji's 14 provinces had benefited significantly from tourism infrastructure and hotel developments, future growth should extend to other parts of the country.

"There is a lot of undeveloped land and opportunity, including along parts of the Coral Coast," Mr Pant said.

"The future also belongs to Fiji's other provinces because it helps spread tourism dollars into these areas and can ease some of the pressures associated with infrastructure demands such as water and sewerage services."

Mr Pant said Tourism Fiji's strategy focused on identifying opportunities beyond traditional beach tourism.

"Our focus is on creating opportunities that are not just beach-bound. We want to look beyond that, including higher-end experiences and developments along the Coral Coast and in other regions where there is outstanding scenery and untapped potential."

He encouraged investors to think creatively and draw inspiration from successful tourism destinations in Asia.

"Compare Fiji with places such as Vietnam and Thailand. Be the first investor to come in and take Fiji in a different direction.

"There are many opportunities here waiting to be discovered. What underpins all of this is our culture, our people, our warmth and friendliness.

"It is not something we manufacture. It comes naturally and is part of our DNA. When you combine that with the opportunities available, there is a lot to look forward to."

Strong global connectivity

Mr Pant said Fiji remained well connected to international markets, with Fiji Airways continuing to play a major role in bringing visitors to the country.

"Fiji is very well connected to the world. More than 70 per cent of our visitor traffic is carried by Fiji Airways," he said.

"We are constantly monitoring the global environment and trends in our key source markets. While economies such as New Zealand are softening, we continue working closely with hotel partners to maintain Fiji's appeal."

He said there was growth potential across a range of international markets despite challenges in some regions.

"China is showing a slight decline, but that is largely due to airline capacity. Before COVID-19, we had five flights out of Hong Kong. That dropped to three and has now increased to four. We hope to return to five services," Mr Pant said.

He added that Fiji's tourism industry continued to perform strongly, with licensed accommodation providers recording occupancy rates of close to 80 per cent.

Mr Pant said tourism's contribution to the economy remained significant.