FIJI and other Pacific Island countries are just on the crust of the United States tourist market and have not fully touched on its potential.
With the US among Fiji’s top two tourist markets after Australia and New Zealand, there was “so much potential” for countries in the Pacific in that market to tap into.
“And it’s a potential area for niche segments in our Pacific Islands, whether it’s adventure, diving, all these other areas that are good for niche tourism in this case,” South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) CEO Christopher Cocker said in an interview on the margin of The Pacific Agenda investment summit in Honolulu, Hawaii last week.
He said there was a future for tourism in the region if governments were committed and development partners came together.
Mr Cocker, who was among Pacific Island ministers and leaders that met with the US private sector at the summit, said a good number of delegates spoke of tourism, which emphasised the importance of the industry in the region.
He cited discussions during the tourism working sessions where leaders spoke of connectivity.
“For tourists to be able to get to our region, we need more frequent direct flights, more cheaper flights in this case,” Mr Cocker said.
“Infrastructure development, the development and building of airports, of hotel accommodation, of roads, etcetera, which are key to building a destination in this case.
“And also energy, cheaper energy for us, in this case for our people in the region.
“Of course, AI was very important and digital, which, you know, we don’t want to be left behind.”
Mr Cocker said the SPTO had specific requests to the US government, particularly in helping regional activities of SPTO that connected private sector from the region and overseas private sector, particularly the US market.
He indicated some discussions looked promising with connectivity and infrastructure development, saying each country had their own bilateral discussions on the matter.
He said infrastructure development in Fiji and the Pacific would help tourism “because this needs to be built for us to move, whether it’s hotels or roads or even anything to do with airports development”.
Mr Cocker also noted Alaska and Hawaiian airlines – part of the oneworld Alliance of which national airline Fiji Airways is also a part of – could improve connectivity for Fiji and the Pacific.
“So imagine having these two working in our region, improving flying within the region, outside the region, and particularly connecting with the North American market.”
Fiji recorded 986,367 visitor arrivals last year – a 0.3 per cent increase from 982,938 arrivals recorded in 2024; and the top three destinations were Australia (452,422), New Zealand (219,301), and the US (118,148).
