A total of 88,255 provisional visitor arrival numbers were recorded for October this year alone, accounting for a slight 1.3 per cent decrease over last year.
Statistics released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBoS) this month noted that that also represented a 4.4 per cent decrease when compared to September 2025, which recorded a total of 92,344 arrivals.
FBoS chief executive Kemueli Naiqama said visitors arriving in October this year for holiday purposes accounted for 78.6 per cent (approx. 69,368) of total arrivals, 7.9 per cent (approx. 6972) came to visit their friends or relatives (VFR), 2.6 per cent (approx. 2295) came for business purposes, while 10.9 per cent (approx. 9620) visited Fiji for other reasons.
Of those total arrivals, some 87,013 arrived by air while 1242 came by sea – mostly seamen on fishing vessels (1007) and 235 arrivals by yacht.
“The major source markets for visitor arrivals in Fiji accounted for 89.7 per cent and remain the major source markets in October 2025,” Mr Naiqama said.
In October, 41,288 (46.8 per cent) came from Australia; 20,323 (23.0 per cent) came from New Zealand; 9375 (10.6 per cent) came from USA; 3021 (3.4 per cent) came from Continental Europe; 2392 (2.7 per cent) came – China; Canada – 1713 (1.9 per cent); and 1095 (1.2 per cent) from UK.
In September this year, a total of 44,187 (47.9 per cent) came from Australia; 22,821 (24.7 per cent) from New Zealand; 8906 (9.6 per cent) from USA; 2767 (3.0 per cent) from Continental Europe; 2650 (2.9 per cent) from China; 1515 (1.6 per cent) from Canada; and 935 (1.0 per cent) from UK.
Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Dr Paresh Pant said the softer results from Australia and New Zealand signalled a need to stay competitive during the shoulder period, while the continued growth from long-haul markets highlighted opportunities to strengthen campaigns in the USA, UK, Europe, China and Japan.
“The rise in VFR travel suggests demand for flexible, value-driven products, while the dip in holiday arrivals calls for sharper positioning around niche segments such as wellness, adventure and family-oriented experiences,” Dr Pant said in Tourism Fiji’s November update.
“With year-to-date arrivals slightly ahead of 2024, operators can use this stability to fine-tune pricing, work closely with airlines and trade partners on capacity planning, and optimise distribution strategies to capture emerging demand,” he said.
In 2024 and 2023, visitor arrivals for October stood at 89,388 and 83,030, respectively.
