The March quarter statistics for hotel and tourism accommodation paint a bleak picture of the industry.

Data from the Fiji Bureau of Statistics shows major decreases in occupancy compared to the same period in 2020.

Businesses in the sector were only employing 2,781 people as compared to 13,416 people in the same period last year.

Earnings from accommodation, sales of food, liquor, telephone and other miscellaneous charges totalled $15.2 million, a decrease of 92.7 percent from $207 million.

The room occupancy rate dropped to 11.3 percent from 43.7 percent in 2020.

The pandemic continued to be a major factor in the decrease recorded by the tourism sector.

Click here for the interactive GIS Dashboard