Daku Resort – Thank you, Delia, for the welcome and Bula Vinaka everyone. On behalf of the Hon. Attorney-General and our teams, it’s a pleasure to join you this morning in the hidden paradise. As always, the Savusavu hospitality is unmatched!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We’ve all witnessed the unique challenges COVID-19 has brought to our shores. We’ve also seen how some parts of Fiji – like Savusavu, have been more affected than others.
The survival of the Fijian economy is not exclusively reliant on the Fijian Government or the private sector, instead, it is on all Fijians to be innovative and work collectively.
In that spirit, Hon Attorney-General and I, with our teams are here today to encourage an open forum to share your experiences, your challenges and more importantly, your ideas and solutions on how to adapt.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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.
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,
These are overwhelming numbers but we aren’t here today to talk about what we’ve lost. We’re here to talk about what we’re doing to get the industry and the economy going again.
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.
As the situation evolved, so did our responses. Just this week, we announced 32 “Stronger Together” employer partners who’ll be providing employment opportunities to over 500 Fijians, especially those impacted by COVID-19 through the Stronger Together Jobs Support Scheme.
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.
What’s special about the Blue Lane is, it ties in well with our commitment to a ‘blue’ economic recovery through the Savusavu “Blue Town Model”. Another development to look forward to!
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 Savusavu.
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,
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.
Our team from Tourism Fiji are here today to take you through the programme in a later session.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There’s another very important part of today’s programme. In 2019, the Fijian Government and World Bank Group began exploring opportunities to develop tourism in Vanua Levu through the World Bank’s International Development Association lending programme.
We had the International Finance Corporation undertake a Tourism Market Demand Study to better understand current demand, determine latent market demand and identify priority markets for future growth.
This also takes into account important aspects, such as skills development, access, natural and cultural heritage conservation and regulatory bottlenecks. It also identifies the public and private investments necessary to realise the potential of these markets.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This particular report is of great significance to all of us here, because it essentially forms the foundation of a World Bank lending project that will support the recovery and growth of tourism in Vanua Levu. This is in line with the Fijian Government’s longer-term vision to increase the value of tourism, diversifying our markets and spreading the benefit across Fiji.
Vanua Levu, especially Savusavu, has great potential. We know this because tourists coming to Fiji actually spend more time in Savusavu than in hot spots like Nadi and Coral Coast.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Please join me in officially launching the Executive Summary. In a while, we’ll have the IFC, take you through some of the key findings of the report.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ll now invite the Hon. Attorney-General to say a few words.
Thank you.