Fiji recorded 82,901 in visitor arrivals in May this year alone – a record number for the month and a marked increase of 10.1 per cent in comparison to May last year.
Provisional estimates from the Fiji Bureau of Statistics released this week noted an increase of 7.3 per cent compared with April 2024, which recorded a total of 77,292 visitors.
It reported that in 2023 and 2022, visitor arrivals for May stood at 75,147 and 47,813, respectively.
Statistics for May 2019 (73,169) to May 2024 (82,901) noted visitor arrival numbers had recovered and surpassed the 2019 numbers by 13.3 per cent.
Of the 82,901 visitors, 82,027 came by air while 874 came by sea.
The Bureau stated sea arrivals were mostly seamen on fishing vessels – 692; and 182 arrivals by yacht.
“For May 2024, visitors arriving for holiday purposes accounted for 78.9 per cent of total arrivals, 7.8 per cent came to visit their friends or relatives, 2.5 per cent came for business purposes, while 10.8 per cent visit Fiji for other reasons,” the FBoS stated.
Visitor arrivals by major source markets: Australia – 38,944 (47.0 per cent); New Zealand – 19,627 (23.7 per cent); US – 9232 (11.1 per cent); China – 2202 (2.7 per cent); Continental Europe – 2201 (2.7 per cent); Canada – 1488 (1.8 per cent); and Great Britain – 874 (1.1 per cent).
The Bureau stated those countries accounted for 89.9 per cent of the total visitor arrivals for May this year, and remained the major source markets for Fiji.
