An increase in visitor arrivals has recently sparked a glaring challenge for the tourism sector, a decrease in room capacity by about 4000 rooms.
This, according to Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) chief executive officer Fantasha Lockington while speaking at the 2023 Pacific Update at the University of the South Pacific (USP) yesterday.
She said the demand for Fiji was initially much higher than what they had predicted, as many tourists were now coming in through increased flights to major cities.
More seats would become available once the two new wide-bodied Airbus joined the Fiji Airways fleet next month.
Ms Lockington said they did not experience any low season in the 19 months since reopening Fiji’s borders to the world.
“Our biggest issue now is with the steadily increasing seat capacity bringing in more and more visitors to Fiji and now about to increase further with two more wide-bodied aircraft being delivered, as well as other airlines returning, room inventory will be short by around 4000 rooms,” she said.
“Our smaller, affordable backpacker resorts have not been able to reopen, although Airbnb and homestays have sprung up to fill some gaps.
“In the last decade, there have been very few large resorts constructed, the investment climate has not been conducive to attracting the types of investment needed,” Ms Lockington said.
Additionally, she said there were a number of infrastructure challenges in place, including the difficult and costly access to power, water and proper waste management infrastructure.
