Tourism thrust

By Stan Ritova

THE Fiji Visitors Bureau has come a long way from its beginning as a committee in Suva in 1924 with a budget of about Fs2ooo to $4.5 million in 1992, and is now by far the main foreign exchange earner surpassing sugar. All of the $4.5m is provided by the government as a grant and of this s2m goes towards operating costs and $2.5m for marketing

including promotion and advertising.

Members of the industry itself contrib uted $2.5m for marketing, promotion

and advertising.

But the budget is inadequate in comparison to what the FVB is achieving in the way of visitor arrivals. Already tourism has taken over from sugar as the main foreign exchange earner and it will continue to grow if the climate is right.

In 1992 tourism earned $328.5m com pared with $ 138.3 m 10 years ago whicle sugar brought in $221.3m. “This is a commendable achievement on our part especially when we have to operate on a limited budget compared to what 3ther countries like Australia and New Zealand contribute to their tourist indus tries,” the bureau’s chief executive, [simeli Bainimara, said.

“Tourism, as figures show, will continue o grow because we have a beautifuul :ountry to show off and share with r isitors,” he said. “What we need most is nore government and industry financial upport to be able to step up our marketing ►rogram overseas,” Bainimara said.

Toursim earnings from visitor arrivals ave increased markedly over the years. In 980 there were 140,000 visitors who spent 109.5 m. This figure increased to about 48,000 in 1981 and they spent $ 122 m. The isitor arrival figure rose to 195,400 in 1986 nd they spent $ 185.4 m but the figure ropped to about 149,000 in 1987. Visitors lat year spent only $ 145.7 m, $39.7m less lan they did the previous year.

However, it picked up again in 1988 hen 208,000 tourists came our way aving behind slBlm. There was a markable jump to 250,656 visitors who >ent s2Bom in 1989 and 278,996 in 1990 ho spent an estimated $335m. The visitor •rivals figure dropped a bit in 1991 to >9,350 who spent $329m and increased amatically to 278,534 in 1992 when they •ent $328.5m. But 1993 looks like a omising year. Visitor arrivals for January June were 127,027, the highest for the :riod in the past four years, and could be lot more for the current six months.

Australia remains the main source of ji’s tourist arrivals rising from about ,000 in 1989 to about 105,000 in 1990 mg down to about 82,000 in 1991. irope, including Britain, was second

followed by the United States a close third.

According to a paper prepared by senior tourism officer (research), Samisoni Sawailau, of the Ministry of Tourism, the industry did not develop from tourist demand within the economy nor simply from demand citizens to visit Fiji. In fact tourism originated from the trans-Pacific shipping trade in the early 20th Century.

Australia and United States shipping lines used Fiji as a principal transhipment port.

Passengers on the ships disembarked in Suva for the north or south bound section of their voyage either to North America or Australia. Ships were rarely ever able to keep to their advertised time table, hotel board housing other services were estab lished.

In line with this drive for tourists, government abolished passports for ships’ passengers. The country’s fledgling tourist industry started to flourish in leaps and bounds with the support of government and finally in 1952 the name of Fiji Publicity Board was changed to the Fiji Visitors Bureau and this into effect on January 1, 1953. The number of visitors continued to rise from the bureau’s early beginnings and began to shape the destiny of the industry. Tiie Fiji Publicity Board was demanding for improvements to Nadi Airport from 1946 to 1961. The board’s demands paid off and in 1946 the first commercial flight into Nadi Airport in the way of a Pan American Airways airliner touched down a day after the Second World War spread to the Pacific. There were no passenger facilities of any signifi cance at Nadi Airport. But just across the road from the first terminal building located near where Sunflower Airlines have their offices and hanger at Nadi, was the Fiji Mocambo Hotel run by the late Barry Philp, a colourful figure and one of the fioneers of the building of tourist hotels in 7 iji and who later built the present Fiji Mocambo overlooking the airport. The Mocambo quickly acquired a reputation for friendliness and discomfort at times in about equal measure. As part of the development of the industry in Fiji and as an added incentive for people to come to Fiji, the government introduced duty-free shopping in 1962. Encouraged by what duty-free shopping had done to the tourism

industry almost overnight, government

passed a Hotels Aid Ordinance in 1964 to encourage investors to construct new ho tels. And this it did and the end result was that a number of hotels came up on what is now popularly known as the Coral Coast of Viti Levu. To mention a few, the Fijian, Naviti Resort, Paradise Point (now de funct) right next door to the “old lady of them all, the Korolevu Beach Hotel which unfortunately, is also defunct, and the Reef in Korotogo. Later ones were The Warwick of Fiji, the Regent and the Sheraton and other smaller places.

Tourism accounts for 22 per cent of Fiji’s gross foreign exchange earnings according to the 1990 figures and will no doubt have

risen to a much highter level.

According to Sawailau’s paper, tourism is estimated to provide employment di rectly and indirectly for 28,000 people which is about 22 per cent of total paid employment in hotels, or 90 per cent full time, as at September 1991. The sector is now the major source of paid employment in the country. The establishment of the major international chain hotels in Fiji has given local entrepreneurs the opportunity to initiate small road tours in association with accommodation businesses. Tourism annual earnings in foreign exchange com pared with sugar are as follows: 1989, sugar earned $212 million, tourism s2Bom; 1990, sugar earned $223m, tourism 5335; 1991, sugar earned s22om, tourism $329m. According to the tourism ministry, using a more simple term to weigh the significance of the tourism industry, if the average Australian visitor normally speends 10 days in Fiji with an average daily expenditure of $146 a day in 1990, by the time he goes back home, his holiday package would have cost him $1460.

Social Aspect According to the Ministry of Tourism paper there are obvious social costs to the country in relation to tourism develop ment. Social interaction between tourists and the local people would, over time, led to behavioural changes. “However, it is argued that not all social changes can be directed at tourism when one seriously considers the impact of the media, video/ television, education and the development process itself,” according to the paper. The FVB, like government feels that there should be “controlled tourism” because it would “enhance and definitely preserve and enrich authentic culture and tra dition.”

“Although a lot of pessimistic perception of tourism emnates from ignorance and misconception, a cautious approach to tourism would definitely advocate the preservation and enrichment of authentic culture and tradition.”

Future of the Industry For the future of the tourism industry there is a need for an additional 1500 hotel rooms by 1996. This is to add to the 4000 rooms that exist. The additional rooms are to include: 1000 premium resort rooms; 200 premium city hotel rooms; 200 mid-scale resort rooms;and 100 rooms related to special interests such as diving and track ing.

According to Sawailau’s paper, in terms of visitor arrivals, a target for the next five years was set with an average growth rate of 8 per cent a year. The 1989 and 1990 actual arrivals figure was short of the rorecast figure of 266,000. The need to encourage the landowners and locals to actively participate in small tourism busi ness is strongly emphasised, according to Sawailau’s paper.

In this regard, a new strategy in Secondary Tourism Activities (STA) has been vigorously pursued to widen and diversify ght local tourism activities base.

STA is all for tourist activities that are conducted outside of the main hotel perimeters. The major constraint lies in capital financing and technical advise.

There are currently three pilot projects on the ground initiated by Fijian landowners with no financial assistance from the government. □