A lot of unnecessary delays which cause frustration and stagnation of tourism development projects are caused by an inefficient and ineffective Public Service, said the Minister for Tourism, Konisi Yabaki. He called on the Fiji Hotel Association to work collectively together to help marketing efforts, especially overseas, to maintain the quality and value of service. Tourism, said Mr Yabaki, is the new growth sector in the international economy. Every country is now aspiring towards increased visitor arrivals to their country.
Old barriers have to be lifted and new orders observed.
According to World Tourism Organisation, an estimated number of 698 million international tourist arrivals were recorded in year 2000, and was the highest recorded so far, doubling that of 1999. Mr Yabaki said that the Fiji Tourism Plan 1998 to 2005 will need to be reviewed given that a number of events have occurred to disrupt planned activities and targets. The Minister noted that it was important to involve Natural Resource Owners as important players in the tourism industry. He said if resource owners feel that they are effective partners in the industry, much of the problems associated with land disputes and unwelcome takeovers could be avoided.