5:39 PM
savcenko
AU visitor growth to Fiji for May 2010 tops 42 per cent mark
- Australian performance for May best on record
- Australian numbers now constitute 46 per cent of all Fiji's international visitors
- International figures for January-May period up 22.3 per cent
Figures released this week by Tourism Fiji show more than 21,203 Australians visited the destination in May 2010, an increase of 42.9 percent over the figure recorded for the same period in 2009.
The May result brings Australian numbers for the first five months of this year to 99,633, a massive 42.8 per cent increase over the 69,787 figure recorded for the same period in 2009.
Tourism Fiji regional director Australia Paresh Pant said the 21,203 figure for May represented an increase of 6375 visitors over the 14,828 recorded for the same period in 2009, in the process eclipsing all previous Tourism Fiji records set for the month.
More to the point, he said, the continuing success the destination is enjoying from the Australian market means that Australian business to Fiji overall now constitutes more than 46 per cent of the destination's total visitor intake.
The strong Australian result helped take Fiji's international visitor tally to 216,525 for the five month period, the figure smashing the 2009 result of 177,067 by 22.3 per cent.
"The Australian performance is playing a major role in keeping Fiji bang on track for its best ever year," he said.
"If this trend continues across our peak season (June-August), we are optimistic Fiji's international visitor intake will surpass the 600,000 'best ever visitor' target we set ourselves last year."
Fiji's best figures were achieved in 2008 when the destination recorded a total of 582, 602 international visitors for the 12 month period.
Figures from other source markets also continued to improve with US figures up 24.5 per cent, Japan figures up 34 per cent, South Korea figures up by 21.5 per cent, Canada figures up by 14 per cent, EEC figures up by seven per cent and New Zealand figures up by three percent.
Released by Tourism Fiji
