The total income from the tourism industry now stands at $1.32 billion and Fiji’s aim is to make tourism a $2 billion industry within the next 5 years.
While speaking at the Industry Day for Tourism Fiji at the Intercontinental Hotel in Natadola, Tourism Minister Faiyaz Koya said the tourism industry is the largest contributor to the Fijian economy as it earns about 33 percent of our foreign exchange.
Koya said the industry also directly and indirectly employs a third of the working population in the country.
There is more great news for the industry and Fiji as a number of multi-million dollar hotel projects are now in the pipeline.
Koya confirmed that some of the projects include the Yatule Beach Resort refurbishment, the Pearl Resort Marina development, the massive Vunabaka project in Malolo, Kokomo Resort in Yaukuve, Nawi Bay Resort and Momi Bay Resort developments.
He said these projects will add at least 1,000 new rooms to the current room inventory.
The Tourism Minister also said that they are finalizing the five year Fijian Tourism Development Plan which has a number of goals and objectives to be achieved by 2020.
Koya said the plan aims to achieve tourism earnings to total $2 billion, annual growth of the industry to be 6 to 7 percent, support an additional 9,800 jobs, focus on quality not quantity and total output to be $543 million per year.
He said to achieve these goals, the government and the private sector need to work together.
Koya also said that the plan will provide a highly-focused approach to development such as tourism related infrastructure, incentives, policies and initiatives.
