Fiji’s tourism plant is realistic about the global uncertainty, and work is already underway to mitigate its impact on the destination, and to turn it into an opportunity.
Tourism Fiji ceo Paresh Pant says the proactive approach will keep the industry aligned and ensure the destination remains strongly positioned in the marketplace.
“We are collectively sharing insights and monitoring what’s going on,” he says.
Current bookings are holding and this is instilling a lot of confidence, he adds. Tourism Action Group chairman Damend Gounder says it’s not the first crisis the group has faced, adding that post C-19 Fiji’s tour ism sector emerged ‘more resilient and connected than ever before’.
“We stand on firm foundations,” he adds. “While Fiji may be small, we’re resilient, well connected and united.”
The priorities for the group are based on ‘factual realities and not panicked realities’, he adds. Gounder’s key message for the trade is that the safety of the destination remains unchanged.
. . . Fuel Up
Fiji Airways ceo and md Paul Scurrah is a member of the group, and he says FJ is closely monitoring the situation, which evolves ‘almost hourly’.
“We’ve already started increasing our fares in order to cover the increase in fuel costs,” says Scurrah. “At this point in time we’ve chosen to do it through revenue management practices as opposed to putting a specific fuel levy on.”
It’s a necessary move, says Scurrah, to ensure that FJ can keep flying its network.
While other carriers have cut flights, Scurrah says FJ is seeing ‘really strong demand’ for travel to/through Fiji, and that is giving it the confidence to hold the network as it is at the moment.
However, he admits that it’s a volatile environment and if situations change consolidating is not off the table.
