The three political parties, including the People’s Alliance, National Federation Party, and Social Democratic Liberal Party, decided to put aside their differences and work together to move Fiji forward to ensure there is unity.

Assistant Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Alitia Bainivalu, made the comments while thanking President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere for his gracious speech.

Bainivalu says she supports the President’s call for Fiji to be united now more than ever.

Assistant Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Alitia Bainivalu.

She says as a nation, they are up against grave challenges such as the impact of climate change, globalization, and the economic downturn.

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Bainivalu says after meeting the tourism industry stakeholders, she now has a much stronger appreciation of the industry and its contribution to the economy.

“The tourism industry has exceeded expectations in terms of recovery. We went from 146, 905 visitors in 2020 which was 16 percent of the 2019 level to a recovery of 71 percent today. We have had record-breaking numbers for the month of July, September and November compared to 2019. We have never seen so many Australians in Fiji in a single month as we did in December last year and we have had a good turnout from the New Zealanders, the Americans and Pacific islanders as well.”

Bainivalu adds that the high visitor numbers and related spending combined with high prices boosted tourism receipts, and as per overseas exchange transaction records, they reached over $1.4 billion.

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She adds that tourism truly is a multi-billion dollar industry.