Japan has surpassed the United States in the number of flight searches to Fiji, according to data from Tourism Fiji. India has also shown a notable increase in flight searches, making it one of the two countries experiencing growth.
Traditional partners, Australia and New Zealand, continue to lead the list of countries searching for flights to Fiji. Brent Hill, the chief executive officer of Tourism Fiji, expressed optimism about the increasing interest from Japan, stating that the tourism organization is working to enhance its presence in that market.
Hill noted the strong occupancy rates, predicting that July will be another solid month. Current forward booking data also indicates positive trends for the tourism sector.
Australia, New Zealand, and the US remain the top three markets for Fiji. Despite an expected decline in searches from New Zealand due to economic challenges such as inflation and high interest rates, the overall figures from the country have held steady.
Recent data shows flight searches from Australia have increased by 1.9%, and from India by 0.6%, while searches from New Zealand and Japan have decreased by 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Regarding accommodation, Fiji recorded an average occupancy rate of 86% in July, with forward bookings indicating 79% for August and 66% for October. The leading countries for accommodation searches include Australia (35%), New Zealand (31%), and the US (9.6%). There has been a slight decrease in accommodation searches from Canada and New Zealand.