Fiji eager to welcome Chinese tourists

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With China's fast growth, comes an emerging middle class ready to travel the world. With over 300 islands, Fiji's tourism association chief is hoping the South Pacific island nation can woo Chinese travelers to its sights.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Dixon Seeto is hoping that Fiji can be Chinese tourists' favorite destination in the South Pacific region.

"Today, China represents a very promising tourist market for all of us. The outbound from China is increasing. Every country in the world now is trying to woo Chinese visitors as they are heavy consumers."

"As a beautiful island nation with tourism contributing more than 30 percent to the economy's GDP, Fiji is, of course, eager to welcome more Chinese tourists," he said.

China is Fiji's fourth largest tourist market with about 50,000 Chinese tourists visiting Fiji per year. /VCG Photo

According to Seeto, tourism is the most important industry in Fiji and sees more than 800,000 visitors per year, almost equal the entire population of the country.

The government has set a goal of developing the tourism industry to a 2.2 billion Fijian dollar (about 1.1 billion US dollar) industry by 2021.

Currently, Fiji's tourism industry employs about 119,000 Fijians indirectly and directly. 2017 marked the best year ever for Fiji's tourism, with 842,884 visitors coming to the nation, a 6.4 percent rise from 2016, with visitors spending 1.8 billion Fijian dollars (about 86.4 million US dollars) in terms of foreign exchange earnings.

In Seeto's eyes, the island nation is famous for its pristine and beautiful natural environment – crystal clear waters, excellent climate with fresh air, beautiful sandy beaches and tropical rain forests.

/VCG Photo

Currently, China is Fiji's fourth largest tourist market with about 50,000 Chinese tourists visiting the island nation per year.

According to Seeto, most Chinese visitors arrive in Fiji on a short term basis, but the impact of the Chinese visitors could not be underestimated.

"Chinese tourists are in Fiji for five days to a week. They usually stay in good quality hotels and spend a lot of money," he said.

"Fiji and China have enjoyed a very good relationship over the past decades and the Fijian government appreciates the Chinese tourist market, believing that it has a great potential."

He said Fiji has done a lot to attract Chinese tourists, such as the visa exemption to Chinese tourists, many shops and hotels accepting China's Union Pay, and is hoping more direct flights will be opened soon.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency