Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association Chief Executive Fantasha Lockington. [File Photo]

The mixture of government’s commitment and business creativity can enable Fiji to recover from the COVID-19 impacts.

Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association Chief Executive Fantasha Lockington says this was clearly portrayed in the government’s bold recovery initiatives and the revolutionary tax reviews

Lockington says they are delighted that the government has delivered a bold and innovative budget that has responded to our needs and has set the framework we need to reduce overhead costs.

She says they are confident that their members will support the initiatives following the $60m Fiji Recovery Rebate Package to help rekindle the tourism industry.

The Chief Executive says the initiative will bring jobs back quickly

The industry has already commenced working on creating safe work practices and environments to maintain the COVID containment status that ensures the safety of our visitors.

Lockington says COVID-19 might have taken a negative toll on our businesses and our economy, but we have a great opportunity to restart the travel industry and rebuild it in a way that it can operate more sustainably.

The Association remains optimistic that quarantine-free travel will commence soon with New Zealand and Australia

The Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association looks forward to cooperating with Government and the national carrier, Fiji Airways, to return tourism to its rightful place as the key driver of economic growth in Fiji.