Increasing the number of tourists from China is one of the key areas of development cooperation for Fiji and China.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the significant increase of Chinese tourists to Fiji is already paying off and he expects these numbers to increase further.

“Visitor’s numbers increasing 11 fold from 4087 in 2009 to 49 083 in 2016, I look forward to seeing those numbers climb in the years ahead.”

Chinese Ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo believes the numbers can increase significantly if certain measures are put in place.

“And one of the major, I would not say obstacle but the issue we need to seriously consider is the direct flight between China and Fiji.”

The Ambassador adds that security is also another key factor they want to ensure.

160 million Chinese nationals traversed the globe last year, making China a hotly contested tourism source market.