The International Monetary Fund has projected a fall in tourist arrivals in the coming months.

According to the IMF Mission Chief for Fiji, Marshall Mills, there has been some shift in composition and arrivals from the main market of Australia in January, which were made up by other tourist arrivals, and it could filter down to Fiji.

The IMF Mission Chief has identified that as a risk, as tourism is a key factor in the Fijian economy.

“The best way to maintain that is to provide for growth in hotel capacity, provide infrastructure, that provides a good tourist experience.

Mills stresses that Fiji has a number of strong assets as a tourism market, and the government just needs to make sure that that is fully exploited through its sound economic policies.

Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad highlights that the government is taking measures to address the issue and is optimistic that tourism will keep on growing.

“We are looking at additional capacity. There are some investments that we believe will add more rooms by the end of this year, when the numbers will be peaking.”

The IMF and the Fijian government are dedicated to utilizing the nation’s strong tourism resources and sensible economic policies to maintain and grow the tourism sector’s economic contribution, despite the obstacles presented by the evolving tourism market.