Fiji’s tourism woes continue

The island nation of Fiji has said that uncertainties remain over its tourism industry and it will be difficult to pinpoint when the sector will revive, news agency Xinhua has reported.

According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), the country’s Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Siddiq Koya said that it is impossible to forecast when the travel industry will begin to rally against the impact of COVID-19.

“There is so much uncertainty. There’s no time-frame that the government could give to say we can open on this date,” he said.

With borders staying closed and flights grounded, even when travel resumes, it will take time for passenger confidence to bounce back. Even when tourists return, he doesn’t see a mad rush of visitors wanting to holiday in the island nation.

As the backbone of the Fijian economy, tourism is the most important industry with the biggest foreign exchange earner, with 40% of the country’s GDP depending on tourism employing around 150,000 people directly and indirectly, the Xinhua report said.

The island nation has in recent years received more than 800,000 visitors per year. The Fijian government had also set a goal of developing the tourism industry to garner revenues of 2.2 billion Fijian dollars (about 1 billion U.S. dollar) industry by 2021.

However, COVID-19 has had a serious impact on Fiji’s tourism. With travel restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the deadly virus, the industry, which has already laid off about 40,000 people, has been at a standstill for the past months, and more lay-offs are likely before things improve.

While asking Fiji to be included in a planned travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand in the coming months, Fiji also launched early this month the “Love Our Locals Fiji” campaign to help the tourism industry.