August marked a historic milestone for tourist arrivals, continuing to drive the numbers for this year above those of the same period last year. The Reserve Bank of Fiji, in its recent economic review, highlighted that the tourism sector is set to gain from the unexpected surge in visitors.
In August alone, 94,787 tourists were recorded, setting a new record for the month and bringing the total number of visitors for 2024 to 640,274, a 6.9 percent increase compared to the previous year. The rise in arrivals was primarily fueled by key markets, including Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, with contributions from China and the Pacific Islands as well.
The central bank’s data suggests a positive outlook for the Fijian economy, bolstered by tourism, consumer spending, production, and investment activities. The economy is anticipated to witness another year of growth following a robust 7.5 percent expansion in 2023.
Sectoral performance was generally favorable, particularly in gold and timber production. Gold output experienced a notable increase of 30.3 percent by August. Additionally, resumed pine supply from Kadavu has led to a rise in annual production of sawn timber by 14.5 percent and woodchips by 5.7 percent.
Headline inflation also showed signs of improvement, decreasing to 5.4 percent in August from 6.8 percent in July, while foreign reserves stood at $3.7 billion at the end of September, enough to cover 6.1 months of retained imports and expected to remain sufficient in the medium term.