Over 140 hotels and properties have shown interest in working with Fiji Airways to come up with a recovery package and help rekindle the tourism industry. [File Photo]

Over 140 hotels and properties have shown interest in working with Fiji Airways to help rekindle the tourism industry.

This is mainly through the developing and provision of recovery package.

The government has announced that it will be working through Fiji Airways to provide the first 150,000 visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime travel stipend of around $400 per passenger to go towards tourism packages including flights, hotels, meals and beverages.

Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the Recovery Rebate Package aims to fill hotels by creating attractive packages to safely escape the pandemic.

“All of these benefits have been put in place because there are long term strategic thinking. We have slashed departure tax by $100. We have said we allocating $60m to Fiji Airways so they can come up with packages.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says tourism contributes 40 percent to the country’s GDP.