While Fiji’s tourism industry is set to benefit from a surge in global travel demand and consumer spending, growth is being constrained by a shortage of hotel rooms and accommodation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Viliame Gavoka shared this saying the imbalance between flight capacity and available accommodation is limiting the country’s ability to meet growing visitor demand.
“When demand is high, we run out of rooms,” Mr Gavoka said.
“There’s a mismatch between the airline inventory, the number of seats and the rooms on the ground.
“That in many ways limits our growth, because people can’t travel if they can’t get a room.”
He said addressing the issue is crucial to sustaining Fiji’s competitiveness and ensuring the tourism sector continues to grow.
“From the government side, we are encouraging the construction of new rooms and hotels, not only five-star hotels, but also in community tourism and Airbnb.
“These are all accommodations that we need to bring into line.”
Mr Gavoka also revealed that government is working on a new Tourism Act, the first of its kind, which will help legitimize and regulate all forms of accommodation to improve standards and transparency within the sector.
He said Fiji’s airline industry is performing strongly, connecting the country to around 25 destinations, which is a significant achievement for a small island nation.
However, he warned that the success of Fiji’s expanding air connectivity could intensify the existing accommodation shortage unless new investments are made.
“There are emerging markets and people who want to come.
“We are negotiating with them, but when they do come, it will compound the room inventory problem we currently have. The government is fully supporting any investment in accommodation.”
Mr Gavoka said ensuring a balance between air capacity and room inventory will be key to sustaining Fiji’s tourism success and maintaining its position as one of the Pacific’s leading destinations.
