Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

The Recovery and Future Prospects
In spite of the setbacks, the tangible results of TAG’s efforts suggest that their strategy
for dealing with tourism in the face of political crises was successful. Average daily
arrivals based on visitor permits at Nadi airport (the main gateway airport for Fiji, and
after the coup, the only airport processing international arrivals) increased signifi-
cantly after the launch of the campaign. As indicated in Tables 2 and 3, arrivals bot-
tomed out at around 12,000 per month during the so-called peak season (June through
August). From October to December numbers were approximately double this figure.
Total airline seat sales out of New Zealand and Australia for Phase One ($499 and
$599 fares sold between August 27 and September 30 for travel between August 27
and December 15) were New Zealand 14,900 seats and Australia 13,000 seats, a total
of 27,900. The forecast foreign exchange revenue to government from tourism in 2000
is FJ$373.3 million. This represents a decrease of 45% compared to the 1999 earn-
ings. It nevertheless represents a substantial return, given the circumstances.
Target Visitor Numbers as Presented in the FVB Year 2000
Marketing Plan Summary, (December 1999)
By October, many resorts were reporting occupancies in excess of 50%, with
bookings improving rapidly. The public relations campaign saw over 100 media
personnel, from over 50 media organizations worldwide, visiting Fiji through the
TAG and FVB Media Visitation Program. Over 1,000 travel agents were projected
will to have visited Fiji by March 2001. Industry employment was less resilient.
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Many hotel employees were still working reduced hours or were on leave until the
situation improved. Although the situation was slowly improving, hotels lost more
than FJ$100 million in the peirod since May 19, 2000.
Despite some grounds for optimism, several key concerns remained. As a result
of the downturn in visitor numbers, airlines withdrew services or cut back on flight
frequencies from market sources. Elections were finally held in mid-2001 and a
Fijian-dominated government was installed, prompting the TAG to disband. The
election of a legitimate government provided some stability and prompted the
Australian government to remove sanctions. There have, however, been increasing
reports of robberies leading to the need to reassure visitors about security.
At meetings in December 2000 and January 2001, TAG proposed that it should
continue as a group for an additional 6 months under the auspices of FVB in a scaled-
down format. After that, a full TAG committee would be reactivated if circumstances
so dictated. What finally prompted the reconvening of the TAG was a fairly unrelated
incident, albeit one that involved a security breakdown. In the face of declining
tourism as a result of the New York and Washington terrorist attacks, TAG reemerged,
an indication that Fiji’s tourism industry was once again in crisis management mode.
In a presentation given to the Fiji Tourism Forum in December 2000, TAG sum-
marized their vision of the way forward as follows:
■
On May 19, 2000, the tourism tap was abruptly turned off;
■
Tourism arrivals declined to a trickle;
■
Fiji’s economy suffered and so did Fiji’s tourism industry;
■
We are now in recovery mode;
■
The flow of visitors is starting to increase;
■
Fiji tourism needs to be united in our efforts to recover our lost status;
■
We need to continue to deliver the promised service to our visitors at all levels
(hotels, shops, tours, transportation, etc.); and
■
Reinstatement of lost employment should remain a priority.
Fiji Islands: Rebuilding Tourism in an Insecure World
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