As the US-Israeli-vs-Iran war rages on in the Middle East, plunging West Asia into a crisis of epic proportions and the global economy into unprecedented turmoil, tourism stakeholders here could capitalise on the meltdown by selling Fiji to the world as the safest place to be right now.
The suggestion was made by Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) Governor Ariff Ali when addressing the private sector at yesterday’s State of the Economy Breakfast Talanoa at the GPH in Suva yesterday.
Worried about how the expected spikes in global oil prices would chew off huge chunks of our foreign reserves in a very short time, Mr Ali said launching a tourism campaign to sell Fiji as a safe destination in the world would be the best thing to do.
“I think the first thing I would do right now is, you know, whether Tourism Fiji and the tourism stakeholders can go put out a campaign to say the safest place in the world right now is Fiji,” Mr Ali said. “That you don’t have to be in the US and things, and help boost our tourism. Because we really need this foreign reserves and the tourists to come to Fiji.
“So the first thing I would do is go on a campaign and get tourists to come to Fiji. That’s really what we need. We need people to be employed. We need our foreign reserves. We need the economy to peak,” he said.
Mr Ali told this newspaper that RBF is closely watching the conflict – which now enters its fifth day and shows no signs of abating – and its impact on crude oil, natural gas, supply chain, freight costs and on other commodity prices including food. Also, how this will impact global growth, especially on our major trading partner economies and how this feeds into inflation, monetary policy reactions.
“At this stage, some impact on inflation which we will feel around late April or early May.
“However, the immediate impact on fresh fruits and vegetables will come from the impact of the recent floods. “If the war is prolonged, the impact on inflation will be higher.”
“We can’t control global prices arising from such events. However, its important people prioritise essentials over non essentials. It’s not that simple or easy for those at lower incomes who are already struggling,” Mr Ali said.
Yesterday former RBF Governor Savenaca Narube’s prognosis on the impact of the war on Fiji was that it will push more families into poverty as prices will go up.
