Visitor arrival numbers dropped

Fiji's visitor arrival numbers dropped by twenty one thousand, one hundred and twelve for the first two months of 2009 compared to the same period last year.

Statistics given by Tourism Fiji shows that 86 thousand 15 visitors were recorded for the months of January and February 2008, while for this year the number dropped to 63 thousand 905.

Tourist numbers from Fiji's main tourist market source Australia and New Zealand recorded significant drops as well during these two months. Tourist arrivals from Australia dropped by 8,959 for 2009, while New Zealand visitor arrivals dropped by 2,683.

Chairman of Tourism Fiji Patrick Wong said the first quarter of 2009 had been impacted by the challenges of the global financial crisis as well as the January floods.

However he said they are expecting the number to increase between June and October.