The tourism sector entered the New Year with mixed expectations due to projections of subdued growth in major source markets, Australia and New Zealand.
Westpac Senior Economist Shamal Chand says however, the sector has shown incredible resilience by receiving a record number of 194,391 visitors within the first quarter of 2024, a 10.9 percent growth compared to the same period in 2022.
Chand says this has rejuvenated excitement around the tourism industry.
He states that despite February being the slowest month for tourism activity, total visitor arrivals grew by 15.9 percent, mainly led by arrivals from non-traditional source markets.
Similarly, March saw a 14.5 percent increase in arrivals.
Chand highlights that as Fiji moves into the peak tourism season in the coming months, we are yet to witness any major impact of the slowdown in source markets on the number of arrivals to our shores.
The declining number of Australian visitors during…
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