Tourism industry players have been urged to take advantage of the exposure Fiji has gained through the Gold win in Rip Olympics and market destination and brand Fiji.
The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, made this call yesterday.
He was speaking during the 2016 Fijian Host January-June Awards ceremony held at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island yesterday evening.
“It is estimated that our visitor arrivals will increase in the near future riding on the fame of the success of Rugby sevens,” he said.
“And following the epic win, Fiji became the number 1 trending search on Google.”
At the same time, Mr Koya acknowledged the work of the tourism sector labeling it as excellent.
“Despite the set-backs caused by the natural disasters earlier this year, the industry gelled together and managed to achieve the impossible,” he said.
“When the nation and the world thought that every sector of the economy will suffer the brunt of Cyclone Winston and will require time to recover, the tourism industry bounced back immediately.”
Mr Koya said the industry not only surpassed the 2015, quarter one visitor arrival numbers and earnings, but the performance in quarter one has been the best the industry has experienced for the past decade.
“Total earnings for quarter 1, 2016, increased by 9.7 per cent compared to 2015, arriving at $340.9 million, whilst total visitor arrivals stood at 158,069 compared to 143,447 in 2015,” he said.
Fijian hosts
As the Nadi International Airport gets shaped into a world-class international airport, Mr Koya stressed the Fijian Hosts programme ensures we deliver world class services.
“If we can bring in the culture of excellence at our major international airports, we can do the same in the entire tourism industry and we can only achieve this by working together,” he said.
“I wish to thank each individual serving as our frontliners for your excellent service, and also reiterate my confidence in the FIJIAN HOSTS programme.
“We have through this programme nurtured and in some cases instilled the pride of being the frontline service providers – being the faces of Fiji.”
Referring to the winners, Mr Koya said: “These are outstanding individuals who have been recognised for being a true Fijian and left a lasting impression on our visitors. You are our champs.”
“Your role as frontliners at the Nadi International Airport is therefore, vitally important.
“You are the first and last impressions of Fiji, which could influence a guest to return to our shores, or better yet, share their experiences and entice them to come to Fiji.”
Edited BY: RACHNA LAL
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