The political situation in Fiji does not appear to be deterring overseas travellers from visiting the island nation.
Fiji, which earlier this month expelled Australia’s acting high commissioner, has released figures showing the destination set a new record for May hosting more than 45,000 visitors.
Tourism Fiji CEO Josefa Tuamoto said the bullish May result brought the total number of international visitors for the five month period to 216,525.
This represents a 22.3 per cent increase over the 177,067 figure recorded for the same period in 2009.
Tuamoto said the May result had been buoyed by yet another strong performance from the Australian market where figures recorded for the month increased to 21,203, an increase of 6375 visitors over the 14,828 recorded for the same period in 2009.
The May result brings Australian numbers for the first five months of this year to 99,633, a 42.8 per cent increase over the same period in 2009.
May figures from other source markets also continued to improve, with the New Zealand figures showing a three percent increase.
“The Australian performance is playing a major role in keeping Fiji bang on track for its best ever year,†Tuamoto said.
