Tourism operators in Sigatoka are excited to have guests back in the country as dates have been set for international borders to reopen.

Warwick Hotels Vice President Pacific, Tammie Tam says they have been working around the clock in anticipation of holidaymakers.

“There’s a lot of repair, maintenance and cleaning that needs to be done in order to be able to reopen. We are gearing up to provide the full service to visitors once the numbers increase.”

Tam says they plan to reopen the 5-star resort next Friday while Tokatoka Resort which comes under the Warwick Group will start operations on Wednesday.

Another operator that is looking forward to borders re-opening is Ecotrax Fiji.

Owner Howie Devries says they have already started targeting the local market however they have a few international bookings for December.

“There might be an initial surge I feel of people dying to get out of the countries but I think it will take a while for things to pick up to the same extent that they were before COVID.”

Devries says he is also planning to bring back more staff when borders open.

It’s been almost two years since visitors stepped foot in Fiji and the industry wants to ensure they are on par with standards expected of them.