Riya Bhagwan 
[Photo: FILE]
Fiji is looking to unlock new tourism revenue streams by targeting transit passengers who pass through the country each year without staying.
Tourism Fiji, in collaboration with the Fijian government, is developing strategies to encourage these travelers to extend their stopovers into short visits, boosting both visitor activity and economic returns.
An estimated 30,000 transit passenger’s move through Fiji each month, presenting a largely untapped market for the tourism sector.
Tourism Fiji Chief Executive Paresh Pant says policy changes are being explored to make longer stays more appealing.
Pant says efforts are underway at the government level to consider extending the duty-free departure period from two to four days to attract these passengers.
In 2023, approximately 1.3 million passengers transited through Fiji without staying, highlighting a significant loss in potential tourism earnings.
While this increase in arrivals raises concerns about Fiji’s accommodation capacity, Pant explains that despite the reported shortage of 5,000 rooms as visitor numbers grow, the short stay patterns of transit passengers could help hotels maximize occupancy.
“It’s a great strategy to actually fill those, you know, like the times between a person checking out and a person checking in. So even though there is a pressure point on the total accommodation inventory, if you work it out on a daily basis, I think the transit passengers, because of their short length of stay, helps hotels top-up their occupancy.”
With plans now being developed to convert transit traffic into short-term stays, industry stakeholders are optimistic that these efforts will drive stronger tourism growth and increase revenue in the years ahead.
