IF we didn’t notice it, then ANZ’s international economists Kishti Sen and Tom Kenny are seeing it in Fiji’s tourist numbers – the change that is quietly but surely emerging in our visitor demographic. Each year, more retiree tourists – visitors in the 65 years and over age group – are coming to Fiji. Trending since 2019, the steady increase of the 65 years- plus cohort is something that should be on our radar, they believe, given the also sure and steady decline in Fiji’s traditional visitor segment – the young families: those in the 1-14 years and in the 25-49 years age categories.
“Fiji is seeing a change in the demography of its visitors,” the economists wrote in their latest ANZ Pacific Insight Report.
“Its traditional visitor segment has been young families. People in the 1–14 years and 25–49 years cohorts accounted for 61.2 per cent of all arrivals in 2019. But that percentage has steadily dropped to 58.6 per cent in 2024 and currently stands at 57.7per cent.
“At the same time, the number of visitors in the 65+ age group has been rising. In 2019, this cohort reached 77,115 and accounted for 8.6 per cent of all short-term travellers.
“At present, the number of visitors in the 65+ age group has reached 113,302 arrivals (on a moving annual total basis).
“This is 11.5 per cent of total visitors, up 46.9 per cent on 2019 arrivals. This cohort is the only age group that has been consistently rising in numbers since Fiji reopened its borders in late 2021.
“It is now the highest of all age groups visiting Fiji, up from fourth in 2019.
“The other age groups have lost its growth momentum in recent months after increasing initially.
“Most of the arrivals in the 65+ age group are couples as the number of male and female visitors in this cohort of short-term arrivals are about the same.
“And they are coming from Australia, New Zealand and the US,” the authors noted.
Shouldn’t we be finding out why? Maybe do a survey? “Absolutely,” Mr Sen said, in response to our questions.
“…just in case we are missing any nuanced factors that may be in play in attracting more senior tourists.”
“More nuanced”, he said, “as in, over and above of what we think are the main factors.”
In their report, the economists drew two inferences from their findings: one, that Fiji is perhaps getting expensive for families travelling with children, and two, that it may be possible that Fiji is benefitting from multigenerational travel, where senior members of the family travel with members of different generations to create shared memories.
“Older cohorts have a higher propensity to consume leisure services as they are more affluent plus more intergenerational travel where seniors travel with family members of other generations to spend quality time and create shared memories,” Mr Sen said.
“A survey would also help us disentangle the proportion of seniors that are coming on their own for a luxury holiday and those that come with members of extended family.”
Mr Sen believes it’s a trend that will likely stay the course.
“I think the segment associated with senior couples travelling together for a holiday in Fiji can continue to grow strongly in the foreseeable future.
“Perceptions of increased future wealth through rising home values and stock market prices in source markets will underpin growth for this segment in my view.”
To benefit from that trend however, Fiji will need to arrest the decline in the younger age groups, something that the two economists infer is due to Fiji “perhaps getting expensive for families travelling with children.”
“The daily spend of visitors has been higher since the pandemic,” they wrote.
“Some budget-conscious young families may be seeking more competitive destinations.
“Visitor numbers to Cook Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu have picked up in recent years, and this suggests that leisure travellers in Fiji’s main markets are looking for a better value proposition, particularly in the face of the rising cost of living in the source countries.”
They also noted a return of international holiday travellers in Fiji’s source markets to their favoured Asian destinations such as the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in recent months.
“I have said many times previously that international tourism is primarily a function of income and price,” Mr Sen said in our interview.
“If Fiji is outmuscled by its competitors at the pricing point, it runs the risk of losing more momentum of its core customer base.
“We saw this segment grow strongly immediately after the borders opened as families treated themselves to a luxury holiday paid for in many ways by the excess savings buffer built up during the pandemic. “Now that abnormal high savings has been drawn down and cost of living pressures remain high.
“Both these factors are pushing families to look for value for money travel.
“If Fiji can remain competitive for this segment of its market, it can continue to draw more visitors with grandparents of children tagging along as well.
“A ‘win-win’ for Fiji which could accelerate visitors to above the coveted one million mark next year,” Mr Sen said.
And a good place to start?
“Fiji could look at adjusting its tourism taxes down to make Fiji more affordable,” he said.
“Cutting departure tax would be a good starting point.”
Food for thought for the bean counters.
