Provisional Visitor Arrivals For Fiji – October 2017

Provisional numbers show that visitor arrivals for October 2017 totaled 78,164, a record for the month of October and represented an increase of 6.2% compared to a year earlier.
There were increases in the number of visitors from the following countries; New Zealand [3,832 or 26.0% to 18,564]; the United States of America [804 or 13.5% to 6,756]; Continental Europe [559 or 19.3% to 3,455]; Rest of Asia [428 or 24.0% to 2,211]; Other Countries [223 or 77.4% to 511]; South Korea [207 or 27.2% to 968]; Pacific Islands [150 or 3.6% to 4,344]; Japan [24 or 6.2% to 410] and the United Kingdom [12 or 0.9% to 1,296].
However, decreases were recorded in the number of visitors from Australia [down 1,445 or 4.0% to 34,359]; China [down 140 or 3.2% to 4,237] and Canada [down 85 or 7.5% to 1,053].
Visitors arriving for holiday purposes accounted for 77.1% of total arrivals, 7.2% came to visit their friends or relatives, 4.0% came for business purposes, while 11.7% visited Fiji for other reasons.
Table1 below presents actual numbers and the 2017 and 2016 comparisons of visitor arrivals for the month of October, January to October and 12 months to October 2017.
Table 1

Figure 1 below is a graphical comparison of Visitor Arrivals by Country for October 2017 and 2016.
Figure 1

In the moving twelve monthly numbers ending October 2017, the total number of visitors to Fiji increased by 6.8% compared with the same period in 2016. Visitors from Rest of Asia increased by [22.5%]; the United States of America [16.6%]; New Zealand [15.4%]; South Korea [12.2%]; Japan [7.9%]; Canada [7.3%]; Pacific Islands [7.1%]; Continental Europe [7.0%]; Other Countries [2.2%]; China [1.6%] and both Australia and the United Kingdom [1.0%].
January to October visitor arrivals 2017, showed a 6.6% increase over the corresponding period in 2016, up from 657,113 to 700,303.
A graphical comparison of visitor arrivals by country during the period January to October 2017 and 2016 is provided in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2

The twelve monthly comparisons are provided in Figure 3.
Figure 3

The majority of visitors to Fiji in October 2017 were in the age range 25-64 (68.0%), which accounts for the vast majority of the working age population. Children aged 14 and below accounted for 16.2% of the October visitor arrivals; 8.5% comprising those in the predominantly retirement age group of 65 and over and with the remaining 7.3% comprising were youths aged 15-24.
Figure 4 below shows a significant gender differential in the age groups 20-24, 25-29, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54 and 65+;
Figure 4

Visitors by Occupation
The top 5 Occupational Groups for visitors engaged in gainful employment in their home countries are as follows;

1. Professional Workers – 15,895
2. Legislators – 11,307
3. Technician and Related Workers – 8,010
4. Service Workers – 6,718
5. Craft Workers – 3,854

Visitors who are not in the labour force were categorised into two major groups. The categories and numbers are as follows;

1. Retirees, Housewives, Children & Others – 15,430
2. Students – 11,071

Additional details are provided in Figure 5 below;
Figure 5

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(Source: FBoS Release No. 68, 2017  20^th November, 2017)
 

Fiji’s tourism industry generally firmed up in the third quarter of 2017 with high visitor arrivals at 78,164 last month.

The provisional visitor arrivals released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBoS) on Monday noted that October 2017 arrivals represented an increase of 6.2 per cent compared with a year earlier.
The provisional numbers had also slightly increased from 77,029 in September to 78,164 in October of this year.
This was driven by higher tourist numbers noted from New Zealand, US, Continental Europe, Pacific Islands, Rest of Asia including South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The bureau noted that October’s visitor arrivals mainly comprised tourists with 77.1 per cent of total arrivals was accounted by visitors arriving for holiday purposes.
The other 7.2 per cent of total visitors visited the country last month to visit their friends or relatives, 4.0 per cent came for business purposes while 11.7 per cent visited Fiji for other reasons.
A decrease was however noted from Australia, one of Fiji’s traditional tourism markets, which declined by 4.0 per cent including China (down by 3.2 per cent and Canada which went down by 7.5 per cent.
But comparing 12 monthly numbers ending October 2017, the total number of visitors to Fiji increased by 6.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2016.
Meanwhile, the central bank had noted in its September quarter review that visitor arrivals noted an annual growth of 6.6 per cent cumulative to September.
Visitor arrivals are anticipated to grow by an annual 5.0 per cent in 2017.
Cumulative to September, the central bank recorded a rise in visitor arrivals on an annual basis by 6.6 per cent to 622,139 tourists, higher than the 4.2 per cent growth recorded in the same period last year.
Over the first quarter of this year, tourism earnings rose on an annual basis by 10.7 per cent to $377.3 million, compared with a 9.7 per cent growth noted in the same quarter last year. Major contributors to these earnings were Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and the Pacific Islands.