Well it's an ill wind that blows no good-this article from Island Business has some Welcome news for travellers on a budget.
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Tourism: HEAVY DISCOUNTS TO LURE VISITORS
But competitors spending big to grab our markets
Elenoa Baselala
The Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau has requested a budget of $18.5 million for its operations in 2008, which it hopes would be able to attract 545,000 visitors to our shores.
"This level of funding is vital to re-establish Destination Fiji in all our source markets and to penetrate emerging markets such as China and India.
"We are in a highly competitive situation with other South Pacific countries outspending us to attract our traditional traveller.
"With a compromised budget this year, our presence in most countries has been negligible so we need initially to re-establish brand Fiji, reassert our dominant role in regional tourism and extol the great diversity and quality offered to visitors with an expanded range of products and facilities and to emphasise the quality and depth of the Fiji holiday experience, FIVB marketing director.
"The Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau believes that 2007 is simply a survival year for Fiji tourism and recovery is dependant on a combination of issues including Destination Fiji marketing presence in key source markets, the perception of Fiji in the eyes of the travelling public which is largely impacted by press and consumer reports as well as regional competition, discounting and the ongoing support from the private sector and supplier airlines," spokesperson and marketing director Cherill Watson says.
The bureau targets approximately half a million visitors for the year, 16,000 less than what former bureau chief executive Viliame Gavoka told this magazine earlier this year.
Watson says the bureau adjusts its 2007 forecast on a monthly basis due to the ever-changing circumstances but to achieve its target the airlines, hotels and tourism services are obliged to heavily discount their rates.
She adds that discounts range from as much as 50 per cent in some instances-a marketing stance considered a commercial reality by many of the larger properties to ensure that hotel workers continued to be employed and that some money was circulating in the economy with the important knock-on financial benefits that tourism brings.
While it cannot be ascertained how much the industry has lost so far, the Tourism Action Group chairman Darmend Goundar placed the figure at $100 million for the month of December (2006) alone during an earlier interview.
The TAG was reactivated soon after the takeover in an effort to keep the industry on its feet.
It was confident of reviving the industry and gave an optimistic timeline of recovery- by June. The month has come to pass and after wave of campaigns, the number of visitors we wanted did not arrive and hotel workers are still unemployed or on reduced hours.
"The series of TAG initiatives stopped the hemorrhaging and through co-operative marketing initiatives visitor arrivals dropped by an average of only 3.8 percent for Quarter 1 in comparison to the same period last year.
"What is relevant, however, is that the arrivals from the long-staying markets of Australia and New Zealand were substantially reduced and the incentive group market saw large cancellations,ยป Watson says.
With the interim regime re-imposing the Public Emergency Regulations last month, the bureau has to work harder to promote Fiji as a safe destination.
"The regional offices of the FIVB have received telephone and e-mail enquiries essentially seeking reassurances on safety issues.
"With the exception of New Zealand, the news did not make the major headlines as the greater focus was on the APEC conference and the start of the World Cup Rugby.
"Although it is too early to quantify the reaction from the traveling public, it would appear that Fiji did not suffer a substantial number of cancellations but conversely Fiji may have lost new bookings as an indirect result.
"With a limited budget there is no possibility of the FVB mounting a huge advertising campaign but must rely instead on the support of travel industry colleagues to continue to sell the destination and on positive consumer and trade press," Watson says.
For the next six months, the bureau hopes the industry would move from its current "survival mode" to a steady and consolidated recovery.
"The current situation has resulted in a much greater degree of cooperation and support and a positive relationship between the bureau and the private sector both in Fiji and overseas.
"Our consolidated, targetted efforts on all levels should translate within six months into improved visitor numbers.
"However, "as you sow, so shall you reap...." and the industry needs to have confirmation of government's financial investment into this vital recovery programme."
Meanwhile, with all these funding constraints, it could be awhile before Gavoka's replacement would be found as the bureau says this would depend entirely on the board and available finance.
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