Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association CEO, Fantasha Lockington is hoping that some relief is provided by the government by reducing import and excise duties and taxes to assist the tourism sector.
Tourism is the worst affected sector with the borders closed and there are estimates that more than 115,000 jobs have been affected.
Lockington says the reduction of duties and taxes will help them to reduce overhead costs, and when the costs are reduced, they can better package the products.
She says this will make Fiji more attractive when the borders open because we will all be competing on the world stage, and it will also assist in local tourism.Lockington says we have to work together to get Fiji on a speedy path to economic recovery and they know tourism can do this.
She says we all have to look at how can we keep jobs, how can we encourage investment and how can we keep small and micro businesses in operation.
The CEO says the operators in the tourism and the hotel sector are still trying to look after their workers on reduced hours or leave without pay however this cannot be sustainable for a long period of time.
