Fiji’s Nadi Chamber of Commerce President Narendra Reddy says that tourism trade in Nadi is recovering but at a slow pace, saying, “There is no real gain because on the local scene people are still being laid off or are working on reduced hours”.
“However there would be some percentage increase in the hotel section with the reduced rates or packages,” he said, and “That’s a good sign for everyone in the industry.”
Mr Reddy said sales were poor and with the recent flood, many shops were still struggling to return to normal.
“We welcome any such increase in the tourism industry with open arms because this will also trickle down to us the business people,” he said.
“All in all there are positive signs of tourism getting back on its feet and we are supporting this road to recovery all the way.”
Earlier this month, Fiji Islands Hotels Association President Dixon Seeto said stakeholders had to pay careful attention to the net effect in Fiji financially in the number of tourists that came to Fiji and the amount they spent per day in Fiji.
Mr Seeto said an ideal situation would be that tourists paid a good price for accommodation and stayed longer.
“In respect to this, Australia and New Zealand are very important to us as they (tourists) stay longer when here in the country,” he said, adding, “And their stay per day is among the highest for visitors staying in the country besides other overseas people staying in the country.” “
Even if you have the same number of tourist arrivals your foreign exchange would be lower.”
Report by The Mole
