Tramonto Restaurant (Matei) – (Taveuni). Thank you, Philip, for the welcome and Bula Vinaka everyone.
This is my first engagement with you all since the pandemic. So, it’s a pleasure to join you all today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the last two days, the Hon Attorney-General and I, with our teams, have been meeting not just tourism our tourism stakeholders – but those along the tourism value chain from Nabouwalu, right to Savusavu. So, today, we’re here in the Garden Island to foster the same open forum to share your experiences, your challenges and more importantly, your ideas and solutions on how to adapt.
You would have heard the Hon A-G say that our tourism arrivals won’t necessarily go back to pre-COVID level for the next few years.
International arrivals plunged 81 percent in July and 79 percent in August –traditionally the two busiest months of the year. The drop until August represents 700 million fewer arrivals compared to the same period in 2019 – a loss of US$730 billion in export revenues from international tourism .
From January to September, visitor arrivals to Fiji dropped by 78.6 percent – again, unprecedented.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s a harsh reality and I’m sure we can all agree that the face of tourism has changed. And how we respond and adapt collectively today, will shape not just the tourism industry, but the economy for the years to come.
Yesterday, I reminded the Savusavu stakeholders that the survival of the Fijian economy is not reliant on the Fijian Government or the private sector alone. Instead, it’s on public-private partnership.
So, I’m extremely pleased to learn that you’ve used this down time to develop a new constitution for the Taveuni Tourism Association (TTA), re-established a board and even have a new website! You’re being proactive and prepared so thank you.
From the beginning, we’ve been strategic and proactive in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic on the Fijian economy. We’ve now gone over 200 days without a case of COVID-19 outside border quarantine.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You’ll recall in March, the Fijian Government announced the COVID-19 Response Budget as a means to offer immediate relief to Fijians, generate economic activity, protect jobs, and fund life-saving containment efforts.
The 2020-2021 National Budget then built on this. Employment relief, upskilling and reskilling support, elimination of Service Turnover Tax, reduction in the Environment and Climate Adaptation Levy, Departure Tax, and excise taxes on alcohol, 150 percent tax deduction for engaging local artists, $60 million Recovery Rebate Package, Investment incentives. These are just some of the support mechanisms we delivered.
We also made a commitment to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and till today, we continue to do so through initiatives such as the MSME Concessional Loan. Loans valued closed to $22 million has already been disbursed, with more than $28 million approved.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Beyond these immediate measures, the Fijian Government implemented a number of strategies to stabilise and restart the tourism industry. And this is one of the main reasons why we’re here.
The Fijian COVID Safe Economic Recovery Framework (Framework), laying out Fiji’s phased approach to recovery, has been our guide. And till today, we continue to refine and align it to ensure Fijians and Fijian businesses are able to make a living without compromising health and safety.
Within this Framework, we’ve come up with a number of travel pathways, such as the Blue Lane initiative which has been very successful. The COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce (CRMT), which comprises of the Permanent Secretaries of Economy, Health and Medical Services and Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, have approved 94 yachts with close to 345 passengers and crew to enter Fiji. In addition, a total of over 100 individuals have been approved to enter Fiji under the Significant Economic Value category. This category under the Framework has allowed individuals to bring in new investments in the country leading to increased economic activity and create local employment.
Having trialed the Blue Lane initiative successfully, we’re now exploring luxury tourism and long-stayers such as international students and filming. This is something we’re confident will benefit Taveuni as well.
Under the Significant Economic Value, Government in partnership with Fiji Airways, is now exploring the concept of Vacation in Paradise (VIP) Lane to High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) who can holiday in dedicated luxury island resorts in Fiji. Island resorts will be identified by the CRMT to take part in this VIP bubble.
To ensure health and safety of communities is not compromised, these travellers will not be exempt from quarantine— instead, we will replicate quarantine conditions in select hotels. There are strict pre-departure protocols such as a producing a negative COVID test, 72 hours prior to departure, as well as symptoms checks.
Upon arrival, these travelers will follow a strict end-to-end travel pathway to ensure there is little to no contact with the local community.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
While borders not fully open, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those who’re part of our Love our Locals Campaign. I understand more resorts from Taveuni are reaching out to the Love Our Locals Fiji team with the most recent being Taveuni Ocean Sports.
Whilst we don’t expect domestic consumption to completely fill the void left by international travel – we’re optimistic the LOL Campaign will continue to cushion the impact as much as possible.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
A key part of our safe, economic recovery is to strengthen our preparedness and ability to safely welcome visitors back. This is where the Care Fiji Commitment (CFC) programme comes in.
The CFC aims to get the Fijian tourism industry ready and compliant with minimum standards of health and hygiene practices to give that added level of confidence in our state of readiness.
Present with us today is a team from Tourism Fiji who will elaborate further during the roadshow session after this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We do acknowledge that infrastructure on the island is an issue and not a new one. I can assure you; we haven’t forgotten Taveuni nor our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. In terms of flights, now with the focus on packages and based on the 2020-2021 National Budget incentives, we’re positive this will impact the overall pricing. I’m sure we can discuss more during our talanoa.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you once again for your efforts over the last few months to keep the industry going. It won’t be easy to get back to where we are but we walk this journey together.
Thank you.