The revelation by ANZ’s international Pacific economist Dr Kishti Sen that increasing departure tax may backfire on Fiji as competing destinations win travellers on price, should attract attention. Dr Sen reckons it could leave Fiji with a costly reputation. The stimulus provided by affluent travellers and Australians who had built savings buffers during the pandemic and had kept Fiji’s tourist demand up post-COVID, he warned, was now fading.
It seems Australians are now returning to their preferred destinations in South-East Asia and the cash savings ratio in Australia has returned to the pre-pandemic levels of about 14 per cent. So now we have what appears to be a scenario where Fiji’s tourist numbers from New Zealand, our second biggest source market, are also “tapering off” and at a “slightly higher level” than the Australians. Dr Sen is right, “tourism is very price sensitive”.
So, it makes sense that we must compete on prices if we want tourists to keep coming back here, or choose Fiji as a preferred holiday destination. This is why, he reckons, “increasing departure tax makes it a little harder to compete on value for money proposition when competition is red hot”. In saying that, just a month ago, in May, the revelation that Fiji was on track to welcome a million visitors to our shores this year was welcomed with great enthusiasm.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Viliame Gavoka made this known at the Fiji Tourism .
