He's Ail Set To
pp. 54-55 · Read in the full issue
Win More Tourists
For Fiji
From a Suva correspondent Fiji’s decision to establish s Sydney office of the Fiji Visitors Bureau is an important step in its current drive for a bigger share in the tourist market.
Mr. Russ Gribble, 46, Wh<J
ItJ. will be the Sydney manager, is out to boost Fiji’s present annual intake of 46,000 visitors, in the belief that thousands of other tralians by-pass Fiji while on tours to the US and the Continent. He plans to convince as many of those he can reach that for a moderate extra outlay they can stop-over in Fiji for a real tropical holiday.
He is taking a special sales kit with him to Sydney and will direct his attentions to travel agentsj publicity media, and the general public through group lectures.
Russ Gribble has a generous affection for Fiji and a wide know] ledge of it. He’s approachable and popular. He is a New Zealanden married to an Australian and they have two children. Since 1960 he has been Fiji Government Printer, and will take up his new post in Sydney in early June.
His many other interests include the Suva Co-operative Association, the Fiji Credit Union movement, and; the Suva Grammar School.
He is a keen yachtsman, but hisj family prefers more leisurely types of boating which is why, he explains,] he has owned in turn a yacht, a power boat, a yacht, and another power boat!
Bureau build-up
The organisation which Russ] Gribble will represent is headed by 30-year-old Rory Scott, a former District Officer, who has an MA from Edinburgh. He has been managing director since July last year.
He took over at a time wheni there was a distinct drop in the number of New Zealand tourists going abroad—which followed limits placed last year on the amount of funds New Zealanders could take outi of their country. Australia has not
iced the same controls on her ople.
The Visitors Bureau office in Suva s recently been moved to Victoria rade, Suva’s busiest street, from limited quarters in Epworth >use, where travellers found it ficult to locate.
Its new office space, which was cated by the British Council, is itinctively arranged, with plenty of mge space for visitors.
Money allocation
The Fiji Government allocation to ; Visitors Bureau this year is 50,000, which will be increased by lounts from commercial firms lich benefit from tourism.
Fiji spends approximately £l/9/- * a total return of £lO7 from each irist who holidays in the colony. In mparison, Jamaica spends £3/4/d Tahiti £B/17/9.
Fiji knows it has to work hard compete with such giants as iwaii, Singapore, and Hong Kong, d also with nearby competitors :h as New Caledonia, the Samoas, ihiti and other Pacific territories lich boast many of the same ributes as Fiji.
Hence Fiji is doing more pro >tion and advertising, more re irch, and putting more effort into idling overseas markets and giv l more attention to the visitor filities inside.
K)LLOWING a conference of its Pacific managers in Sydney in rly May, the French airline UTA, nounced plans for extending its iris-Djakarta run to Auckland, via irwin and Noumea, from April, 68.
UTA also plans to compete with mtas on the Papeete-Mexico route the same month, and step up ipeete-Los Angeles flights from two week to three a week. purs tourist boom continues un abated. The number of tourists riving in the colony in March ought the total for the year to ,073, which is 4 per cent, more an in the first three months of last ar and 26 per cent, more than in e same period in 1965. These ;ures do not include through passen rs making brief stays in the colony, : whom there were 40,000 to the end March, including nearly 9,000 on uise ships.