Around 50 percent of Fijians in the tourism sector have gone back to work as hotels and resorts are slowly opening up.

Approximately 120,000 Fijians directly employed in the tourism sector had lost their jobs when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, forcing the tourism sector to close.

Tourism Fiji Chief Executive, Brent Hill, says the number of Fijians returning to work is expected to increase in the coming days as more tourists will arrive in the country.

“So I think by the end of January we should be in a position where probably around 70 percent of our staff are back working.”

Tourism Minister, Faiyaz Koya, says while some may not be returning to work in the tourism sector, opportunities have been created for other job seekers.

“There are young people, new people that have been hired. I haven’t had any complaints from any other resort owners saying we having difficulty hiring people so people want to go back to work. It has been `12 months or more than 12 months which has been a struggle for everybody.”

Tourism Fiji says there is optimism that the industry will bounce back soon.