Japan has surpassed the United States in the search for flights to Fiji, according to a report from Tourism Fiji. Meanwhile, India has emerged as one of two countries showing an increase in flight searches.
Australia and New Zealand remain the leading nations for flight searches to Fiji. Brent Hill, the chief executive officer, stated that the core countries using the Tourism Fiji website for flight inquiries is a positive trend. He noted, “It’s also great to see Japan, a country we are focused on growing, ranking high in search interest. This indicates a growing interest among Japanese tourists in visiting Fiji and researching flights and activities.”
Hill added that occupancy rates are strong, anticipating July to be a robust month, with forward bookings suggesting continued solid numbers. He emphasized that Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. are the top three markets for Fiji travel.
The report also mentioned an expected decline in interest from New Zealand due to well-known economic challenges such as inflation and rising interest rates, yet overall figures from New Zealand remain stable.
Flight search trends revealed a 1.9% increase from Australia and a 0.6% rise from India, while New Zealand and Japan recorded slight declines of 1.2% and 0.4% respectively.
In terms of accommodation, July’s average occupancy rate in Fiji stood at 86%, with forward bookings indicating a projected occupancy of 79% for August and 66% for October. The leading countries for accommodation searches were Australia (35%), New Zealand (31%), and the United States (9.6%). There were also decreases in accommodation searches from Canada by 1.0% and New Zealand by 0.9%.