It is devastating news as the visits of the cruiseliners had drastically changed the lives of many in Savusavu.
These are the sentiments of Edward Bower the General Manager of Trip-N-Tour in Savusavu whose company organised events for tourists arriving on cruiseliners for the past two years, saying the decision by major cruiseliners to exclude Savusavu as a port of call will affect many people's lives.
Bower said he has seen an improvement in the standard of living in Savusavu as a direct result of the visits by the cruiseliners.
Similar sentiments were shared by the Labasa/Savusavu Special Administrator Vijay Chand, who said from the business community to the villager selling handicrafts, everyone in Savusavu will be affected by the decision.
Tourism Fiji Chairman Patrick Wong said the decision by the cruiseline operators not to go to Savusavu is due to logistical reasons as it takes around one and half days to travel to the North and back to Suva.
This means that the tourists travelling on the cruiseliners are spending more time on the vessel while in Fiji rather than sightseeing and taking advantage of the tourism related activities.
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