Fiji's international visitor arrivals surge again in August

Online, October 17, 2009 (Newswire.com) - In what represents further good news for Fiji's tourism industry, a bullish Australian performance and continuing strong growth from the New Zealand market has again helped
Fiji welcomed a total of 53,994 international visitors for the month, just 6.3 per cent short of the 57,609 total achieved in the record breaking August 2008.

This included a new benchmark for Australia with 22,577 Australians visiting the destination in August, this figure shading the 21,275 figure achieved for the same period in 2008 by more than 1300.

The Australian figure comes hot on the heels of a record breaking July which saw close on 25,000 Australians visit the destination.

It was a similar picture in New Zealand where Tourism Fiji CEO Josefa Tuamoto said Fiji has once again enjoyed very strong numbers with more than 12,600 Kiwis visiting the destination throughout August.

"The Australian and New Zealand figures have again played a major part in helping Fiji to grow its overall international visitor arrivals to the point where they are now just 13.7 per cent short of the 387,464 achieved for the January-August period in 2008," he said.

"But we are also experiencing regrowth in many of our other mature and developing markets - and especially China - as the global recession appears to be winding down.

"When you take into account that we were almost 27 per cent down in the first three months of the year, to have rebuilt our international market share to come within just 13 per cent of our 2008 total is in itself a remarkable achievement for both Tourism Fiji and its very hard working industry partners."

"Based on these figures and the onset of increased Pacific Blue flights ex-Australia, the new FJ services ex-Hong Kong and the recently implemented Continental Airlines Japan-Nadi flights via Guam, Fiji looks to be gathering strength for a very strong finish to the year."

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