Provisional data from the Fiji Bureau of Statistics show 54,219 visitor arrivals in February 2026, a 9.6 percent increase from February 2025 but a sharp 23.6 percent decline from January’s record 70,993 arrivals. The bureau released the figures last week, flagging the month-on-month drop after what it described as an exceptional January.
Of the 54,219 arrivals, 53,192 came by air and 1,027 by sea. The FBoS noted that virtually all sea arrivals were seamen on fishing vessels (1,025), with only two visitors arriving by yacht. The bureau classified the February arrivals as provisional and subject to revision when final data are published.
Holidaymakers dominated the visitor mix in February, accounting for 72.0 percent of arrivals. Visiting friends and relatives made up 8.7 percent, business travel 3.5 percent, and 15.8 percent cited other reasons for their trip. The concentration of holiday travel underlines the sector’s continued reliance on leisure demand.
The top source markets remained Australia, New Zealand and the United States, together with China, continental Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom. These seven markets accounted for 82.1 percent of total arrivals in February. Australia provided the largest share with 19,094 visitors (35.2 percent), followed by New Zealand with 8,511 (15.7 percent) and the United States with 7,757 (14.3 percent). China contributed 3,679 arrivals (6.8 percent), continental Europe 2,383 (4.4 percent), Canada 1,937 (3.6 percent) and the UK 1,152 (2.1 percent).
Age profiling of visitors showed the bulk were of working age: 65.2 percent of arrivals were aged 25–64. The retirement-age cohort (65 and over) comprised 14.0 percent, youths aged 15–24 were 11.9 percent, and children 14 and under made up 8.9 percent of arrivals. These demographics reflect a visitor base weighted toward adult travellers, many likely travelling for leisure.
Comparing year-to-year trends, February 2026’s total of 54,219 sits above February 2025’s 49,483 arrivals but slightly below February 2024’s 54,732. The bureau’s note that January recorded a peak month suggests a seasonal swing into February, a pattern that may be reflected in the large month-on-month fall.
The FBoS also reported resident departures in February: 14,264 Fiji residents left the country. Of these, 12,332 (86.5 percent) were for short-term absences of under three months, 875 (6.1 percent) for absences of over three months but within 12 months, and 1,057 (7.4 percent) for long-term departures of one year or more. Among residents leaving for short-term travel, reasons cited were holiday (48.9 percent), visiting friends or relatives (36.0 percent), business (8.5 percent), others (2.3 percent), employment (2.1 percent) and education or training (2.1 percent).
The FBoS reminder that the February figures are provisional leaves open the possibility of revisions, but the release provides the latest snapshot of visitor composition and source markets as the tourism sector navigates month-to-month volatility following January’s record inflow.
Leave a comment