Tourists who were arriving today say they felt safer holidaying in Fiji than anywhere else.

The first commercial flight arrived at around 11.30am, carrying 193 passengers, who received the warm Fijian bula reception.

Today was a momentous occasion as it signifies the beginning of our tourism revival journey.

Maged Marzouk says they were just amazed with the beauty that Fiji offered right from the welcome reception.

“Amazing you guys have the best country ever I have ever seen in my life it’s really amazing and I really enjoyed it I think I’ll be coming a lot and thank you so much for the welcoming.”

For many of the visitors, it was not difficult to choose Fiji as their destination as it gave them a sense of safety and security especially with the high vaccination rate and the COVID safe protocols.

Aussie tourist, Edward Abramovich says they did not think twice about booking their trip over.

“Fiji is always a nice place to come and we have our wedding anniversary so we said let’s go to Fiji and that’s why we are here.”

Sydney travel agent Nina Moussalli says they always promote Fiji as the number one destination.

“It’s amazing it’s great to be back home and we love to send our clients here, I’m a travel agent from Sydney so it’s one of the first travel agents that will be experiencing what our clients will be experiencing once they return.”

Sean Watson says what Fiji has done to turn things around is amazing.

“Hospitality second to none like this is once in a lifetime truly once in a lifetime.”

Amar Chand, a returning Fijian says there is definitely no place like home as they booked their tickets as soon as they could.

“Feels so great because we haven’t been here for a long time so it’s very great to come back. Always Fiji the best, the best choice is Fiji always.”

With this being the first flight, the work doesn’t end here as it’s just the beginning as more tourists are expected to arrive in the next few days.