There is huge excitement about the New Zealand border reopening, especially for the trade and export community.
This was according to New Zealand High Commission, Trade Commissioner, Pacific David Dewar who said exporters were people who travel a lot, that were very interested in other countries and maintaining those relationships.
“I’ve already had a lot of interest from New Zealand companies and company representatives in getting to Fiji, now that they can travel over here, and knowing that they can also go back to New Zealand,” he said.
“And so Fiji, of course, is New Zealand’s largest trading partner in the Pacific, by far it accounts for about 40 per cent of our exports into this region.
“And there’s a huge number of New Zealand companies that are both already represented here. But also looking forward to getting over here as well, because you can do quite a lot, virtually. He said there was no substitute for those in-person meetings and conversations to rekindle relationships with partners, suppliers and opportunities. Mr Dewar said they were really looking forward to seeing many more New Zealand businesses coming in to do work and invest.
“But there’s a lot of optimism, I think, from the tourism sector.
“They’ve been very pleased, I think, surprised by the large numbers that have been coming in since Fiji reopened its borders at the start of December.
“And I think traditionally, New Zealanders have accounted for around about 25 per cent of all tourism into Fiji.”
He said New Zealand travellers tend to be quite loyal and their travel habits.
“So once they come, they tend to come again and again and again, and so you get a lot of those repeat travellers.
“New Zealanders love Fiji, they love to travel to Fiji. And so I think a lot of those resort operators are very excited about it.
“But the other thing that it’s really important with the tourism sector is that there’s a whole heap of other businesses that depend on it.
“And New Zealand suppliers and partners are very valuable as part of that sector too.”
So whether it’s manufacturing or resort maintenance, whether it’s professional skills and training, or even just high in premium food supply, a lot of those businesses are intimately connected with the tourism sector too, according to Mr Dewar.
“And so there’s a lot of opportunities there for so many others in that broader ecosystem,” he said.
