Fiji Visitors Bureau CEO Viliame Gavoka told the Fiji Times yesterday that continued military threats against Fiji’s Government will cost 50,000 workers in the island nation’s tourism industry their jobs, saying also that the stand-off between the military and the Government has created a perception of Fiji as “no longer a safe destination for tourists”.
He sadi that the Government would run out of money just because the military frightened tourists.
Mr Gavoka said overseas governments, such as New Zealand and Australia had rated Fiji as unsafe to visit because of the threats made by the military to the Government, adding that the perception that we are unsafe will not go away until the military stops threatening the Government”.
Mr Gavoka said people who relied on the industry for their basic income would suffer the most, adding, “The industry is normally made up of three categories of workers: casuals, part-timers and permanent”.
Mr Gavoka said the first to go would be the casuals, followed by part-timers if nothing improved and then reduced hours for permanent workers. “It is a gradual and very painful process not only for the employees, but for the employers who can relate to the suffering felt by their employees.”
Report by The Mole
