Findings from Fiji’s 2019 Annual International Visitor Survey (IVS) reveal total tourism earnings of $3.03 billion.
Tourists spent the most on accommodation, which amounted to $992 million or 33 per cent of total earnings. International airfares totaled $901 million or 30 percent of tourism revenue while tourists spent $606 million on restaurants and bars, particularly through meals included in pre-paid packages.
The 2019 IVS Report was undertaken jointly with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, with the support of the governments of Australia and New Zealand and aims to assist the tourism industry make informed decisions based on available data.
While travel and tourism has come to a grinding halt in 2020, owing to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the IVS will provide invaluable context to help shape the country’s tourism recovery.
“2019 was an exceptional year for the Fijian tourism industry. It’s especially noteworthy because we’ve reached our $2.2 billion target, ahead of 2021 as initially anticipated”, said Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, Shaheen Ali.
“While we acknowledge global travel and tourism has taken a significant hit from the pandemic, and 2020 will be a difficult year, we hope the IVS Report can be taken as a benchmark for Government and industry to strive towards,” added Ali.
The report contains information such as reasons for visit, visitor demography, average nights spent in Fiji, booking and travel trends, expenditure patterns as well as top activities and regions visited.
The IVS Report is an online self-administered system, using an enhanced methodology and increased sample size from the previous IVS. This has reduced the relative margin of error for spend and gives a better representation of visitors to Fiji.
Going forward, the Ministry will continue work on its current IVS to provide more robust and timely data to stakeholders. To read full Report, click here
Acknowledgement
This Report has been prepared by SMS Research & Marketing Services, with the support of IFC, the International Finance Corporation, under the Fiji Partnership – Australia, New Zealand and IFC are working together to unlock private sector investment, promote sustainable economic growth and boost shared prosperity in Fiji.
Disclaimer
Total visitors exclude Fiji Residents and Persons In-Transit. 2019 spending figures are not comparable to previous years due to a change in methodology, similar to other Pacific Island Countries: Spending excludes in-market expenses such as commissions but includes 50 per cent of international airfare.