COVID-free Fiji still crippled by pandemic
It’s the island playground of 300,000 Aussies a year, but the pandemic has shut down Fiji’s national carrier, smashed tour operators and hotels are down to single-digit occupancies.
Fiji attracts more than 300,000 Australian tourists annually and is our tenth most popular leisure destination, but despite being COVID-19 free, the South Pacific nation has been crippled by the pandemic, which has shut down the island’s national carrier, tour operators, and many of its hotels.
Allison Haworth West, the head of the Australia Fiji Business Council and chief executive of Sydney-based Captain Cook Cruises Fiji Islands, has been meeting with the federal government to attempt to reopen the South Pacific nation’s borders.
Ms Haworth West, from the family that founded Captain Cook Cruises, said Fiji was in an economically desperate situation given it derived 46 per cent of its GDP from tourism and did not have any social security.
According to ANZ Research, Fiji has not registered a new COVID-19 infection for 55 days and has no active cases. In total, only 18 infections were recorded and all patients fully recovered.
Accor boss Simon McGrath said he desperately wanted Fiji to open up. “It’s a good spot and proven to be very safe. We trade with them (and) now is the time to help.”
Mr McGrath, who operates six hotels in Fiji, said local communities had been devastated.
“We have single-digit occupancies; we would strongly support opening up Fiji to Australian travel,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms Haworth West’s Fijian fleet is berthed at Denarau Marina after having been mothballed. The fleet, which operates out of Nadi, includes the 60-cabin Reef Endeavour, which does overnight adventure experiences, plus three sailing ships offering day trips to the island of Tibua off Nadi.
“We have had to stand down 150 Fijians; we are operating with a skeleton staff of 12 to maintain the fleet,” Ms Haworth West said.
“We have paid the rest of our staff holiday pay but unfortunately there is no social safety net in Fiji: no JobKeeper and No JobSeeker.”
The Australia Fiji Business Council is calling for flights to resume to Fiji so that the island’s population and businesses can come out of hibernation, noting that Australians make up more than 40 per cent of Fiji’s inbound tourist market.
“Without tourism in Fiji the economy is severely damaged,” Ms Haworth West said.
“We have been lobbying the government since this started. I lived in Hong Kong during SARS. I identified early on there was a problem; we started talking to Canberra early on. They have been positive and open-minded and interested but the challenge is to get everything to happen.
“Fiji is not like Australia or New Zealand where even though the economy is challenged, without tourism we can still drive some level of demand. In Fiji there is not that level of domestic demand for tourism.
“The tourism operators have all had to effectively shut down or severely limit their operations. The trickle-down effect is enormous. The Fijian people have enormous resilience: a lot have returned to their villages planting food, bartering for goods and services and fishing.
“My pitch to the Australian and Fiji governments is please work together and make these planes start flying again.
“People of Australia, please book a holiday to Fiji, start planning now it will open up … ideally in September or October.
“Overall 800,000 visitors arrive in Fiji annually, which is about one visitor for every Fiji citizen, and there have been nil tourist arrivals in Fiji now for nearly three months since late March.
“About 97 per cent of resorts and most tourism-related business are closed including shops, handicraft makers and sellers, business, taxis and rental cars.”
Tens of thousands of ordinary Fijians are out of work.
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