Major visitor decrease before Tonga border closure [1]
Tuesday, June 2, 2020 - 19:27. Updated on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 - 22:18.
Statistics show a major decrease in international visitors to Tonga between January to March this year in comparison to 2019, as CoViD-19 started to spread worldwide and in the months before Tonga closed its border.
Tonga was enjoying an increase in international visitors by 18% in January with 5,517 visitors compared to 4,688 in the same month in 2019, according to the Ministry of Tourism, before figures started going downhill.
In February, visitor figures decreased by 24 percent, with 4,692 visitors this year compared to 6,157 visitors in the same month in 2019.
In March, visitor numbers decreased by a massive 86 percent, with 1,259 visitors this year compared to 8,686 visitors in the same month in 2019.
The March figure was also impacted by Tonga closing its border on 23 March due to CoViD-19.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Tonga will continue to expect zero percentage of international visitors until further notice of the reopening of its international borders.
Salote Latu from the Department of Statistics told Matangi Tonga there are no figures available for April and May at this stage and that it “would probably be zero because the border is closed”.
“However, there will be international departure figures as people have been able to leave the country but these figures are not yet available.”
Tonga's border is closed up to 12 June. However, government has not confirmed a re-opening date.
Economic downturn
Meanwhile, financial data on the depth of the economic downturn and its current impact on Tongan businesses is unlikely to be available to government until July. The IRD requirement for monthly Consumption Tax returns from businesses was eased during the lockdown and businesses were allowed until June 30 to file their sales and income returns for March, April and May. Although some businesses have continued to file monthly returns, the full scale of the business income lost during the lockdown will not be clear to the revenue services until some time after June 30.