RECENT statistics by the United Nations World Tourism Organization forecasts a global 3 to 4 per cent increase in tourism and Fiji is no exception.
Minister for Tourism Premila Kumar noted this at yesterday’s Tourism Fiji Industry Day at the Sheraton Fiji Resort while acknowledging the enormous contribution tourism has made to Fiji’s economy.
“This includes strong outbound travel from emerging markets such as India and Russia and Fiji is not an exception. Year to date October, arrivals from Russia noted a 39.6 per cent growth whilst India grew 7.6 per cent compared to the same period last year,” Mrs Kumar said.
“We’re all here today to understand how the global tourism landscape is evolving, who our potential customers are or could be, and how we intend on marketing ourselves strategically with the right message,” she added.
Mrs Kumar told tourism stakeholders that special attention would be given to regional brands that complement the national one and as custodians of their respective regions, they would need to take ownership, as well as have pride in what was distinct to them.
She said this could only be achieved through continuous collaboration and partnership between the governments, the marketing arm Tourism Fiji and partners of the Fijian tourism industry.
More than 200 stakeholders converged on Denarau Island for the Tourism Fiji Industry Day to discuss their success and work on the way forward for the ever-growing tourism industry.
