Managing director, Colin Philp said they had to spread out repairs on the resort over 18 months after suffering about a quarter of a million dollars in damages from the monster cyclone.
“For a small resort that’s a lot of money, we had to drag it over 18 months to do repairs. However business is picking up. We actually had a good year last year after the cyclone. I think the effect of Winston for the first quarter of this year was pretty tough but we have good bookings moving forward,” he said.
Located south of Ovalau in the sea of Moturiki, Leleuvia is a haven for backpackers and international travellers alike.
Mr Philp said they’ve relied mainly on word of mouth in attracting visitors.
“We’re getting more and more international travellers coming in including a lot of yoga groups. We also have regulars like Lisa Curry, the Australian Olympic gold medallist swimmer; she brings in two groups every year. When people like that come here, they promote the resort, and it’s getting better known.
“We want to ensure they have the best time and they talk about it. That’s the way we advertise it,” he added.
The resort enters its busiest period for the months of June, July and August this year as winter hits Australia and New Zealand.
(Source: The Fiji Times ONLINE 11 April 2017)
Despite coming out of a tough year in 2016 following the devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Winston, Leleuvia Island Resort looks set to gather momentum in the coming months.
