High travel cost hinders tourism from furthest markets [1]
Friday, December 9, 2016 - 18:12. Updated on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - 20:12.
The high cost of travel for tourists to the region is an enemy of the Tourism Industry in the South Pacific Islands, reports the December 2016 issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor (PEM), published by the Asian Development Bank.
Its December issue highlights the failure of South Pacific Islands to claim their fair share from a 4% growth in global tourism, year-on-year up to September 2016, because of their great distance from the biggest tourism markets. It means that the “relatively high travel costs remain the enemies of this industry in the Pacific.”
Closer to home, the New Zealand market, though small, is a stable market for some South Pacific Islands tourist destinations, and showed growth for some countries. Fiji and the Cook Islands were the two main Pacific destinations for New Zealand tourists, and they recorded 11.2% increase during the first eight months of 2016 compared to the previous year.
According to PEM, Samoa also recorded solid growth in the number of tourists from New Zealand.
Tonga also recorded a sharp rise, but from a “much lower base.”
Tourist departures from Japan to Australia and New Zealand; their primary gateways into the South Pacific Islands, increased by 20% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2016.
The USA tourist departures to Oceania also recorded a double-digit growth in the first seven months of 2016.
These trends according to PEM suggest some positive spillovers for South Pacific destinations.