New reasons to visit as record number of Aussies head to Fiji

In that same 12-month period, Australians made up 41 per cent of the total visitors, New Zealanders 28 per cent, and the US and Canada contributed 13 per cent.

With such a robust rebound in popularity, hotel, resort and tour companies are all now scrambling to upgrade or introduce new product in order to seize the new opportunities and accelerate the upturn.

Among the upcoming changes are a multi-million-dollar renovation of Outrigger Fiji on the Coral Coast, an hour and a half south of Nadi, plans for a second Radisson Blu hotel on Naisaso Island, and the building of the first Crowne Plaza Hotel in the country, a massive conversion of the old Pullman Nadi Bay.

“We were getting great momentum with visitors before COVID, but it’s absolutely exploded and is going from strength to strength,” says Matt Tripolone, managing director, Australasia and Pacific, IHG Hotels and Resorts, who’ll be opening the 326-room Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort and Spa in March 2024.

“We’re seeing great growth in both leisure and family travel and also business travel and incentives, while a lot of people are now seeking niche luxury experiences,” says Tripolone.

The hotel will have seven restaurants and bars, including a whiskey bar, a beach club, and a day spa, all on a stretch of beach that’s “close to the airport yet still pretty private”.

“Demand for Fiji is definitely increasing and there are a lot more flights available there, too,” says Tripolone.

It’s a similar outlook for Lachlan Hoswell, managing director for Australasia development for the Radisson Hotel Group. He believes holidaymakers are now seeking more natural experiences in beautiful island and water settings, with friendly locals.

As a result, construction is just starting on the new 250-suite and apartment Radisson Blu hotel, with completion likely early in 2026.

“It will tick a lot of boxes as people can fly in and within 10 minutes be sitting by the lagoon pool overlooking the ocean and the white sandy beach,” Hoswell says. “You don’t have to land and then travel for two hours to get there.”

Fiji has developed in this way to make it more desirable, according to Hoswell.

“There are now some pretty special resorts there, with a modern luxury feel, but life there is still at a relaxed pace. I see it as having a great future and I’m certainly looking for more opportunities there,” says Hoswell.

The Outrigger Hospitality Group is also investing hugely in its two resorts in the country. It recently renovated the 253 rooms and bures for Outrigger Fiji; added facilities to its adventure park including a golf driving range, archery and paintball course; expanded its kids’ program; and introduced island-hopping to its private island resort Castaway Island in the Mamanuca Islands.

“The country is rebuilding well and the future remains exciting,” says Ben Johnson, Outrigger’s director of sales and marketing, who anticipates continued growth from all regions including Australia.

“Fiji has great capacity for further growth in terms of tourism and resorts and there is no current concern of over tourism in my opinion. With 333 islands, there are many places to escape and many villages that would love to see a smiling tourist visit.”

With more tourists now than locals – 880,738 in the 12 months to August 2023 compared to 863,000 residents – others have expressed fears of over tourism. But the Fijian government has been keen to seize the upper hand in the debate early on with the launch of a 10-year national sustainable tourism framework that will adapt global best practices and drive tourism while anticipating future needs.

“We want our future generations to reap the very same benefits as our people and visitors do today,” says Fiji’s deputy prime minister and tourism minister Viliame Gavoka.

Many long-time operators, like Captain Cook Cruises, also oversee their own sustainability protocols, planting more coral, tidying rubbish and educating both visitors and locals in keeping the environment pristine. It’s also enabling them to expand their operations too, offering a greater variety of experiences – and often with a higher degree of luxe.

Captain Cook Cruises has just brought in their luxury small ship MS Caledonian Sky to replace their old Reef Endeavour to elevate their vessels to a new level, with bigger suites and private decks, themed trips like yoga and wellness, and visits to more remote locations.

“Our cruises are the only way you can reach some of these islands, so Australians can discover there’s a lot more to Fiji than they ever knew before,” says Captain Cook Cruises Fiji executive chair Allison Haworth West. The company is preparing to launch a new itinerary from April 2024 she says will “really open up Fiji”.

“It’ll mean diving on reefs no one has ever dived on before, beaches that no one’s ever swum off, an insight into different cultures and styles of architecture, and villages that no one has visited before,” says West. “We’re trying to create a new, undiscovered bucket list destination, like the Kimberley.”

There’s lots more island-hopping being offered; Fiji’s two-level floating pizza bar Cloud 9 is now introducing its own ferry plus two more boats for hire to travel around the islands. Owner Bar’el Wachtel says, in these kinds of ways, Fiji is now extending its appeal.

“Australians and New Zealanders have always loved it but now we’re seeing the Chinese market back too,” he says.

There’s plenty to attract them too, with another floating pontoon Seventh Heaven Fiji offering overnight stays, construction just starting on the $153 million (FJ$230 million) expansion of the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, scheduled to complete in late 2026, and a new solar-powered island resort being built by Silent Yachts off Taveuni.

At the top end, for adults only, the new Waya Island Resort has just opened in the Yasawa Islands with just 17 bures, while romantic packages are being introduced in the Lomani Island Resort.

Even small enterprises like Ecotrax, which has been operating e-bike carriage trips along the old disused sugar cane rail lines since 2018, is now doubling capacity to meet surging demand.

“We have to turn away so many bookings, we’re now increasing our fleet so we can do four tours a day instead of two,” says owner Mandy de Vries, whose business took off after it was featured in an episode of the TV show Bachelor in Paradise Australia.

“It’s going amazingly well and we don’t see any end in sight. Fiji is such a glorious destination and, as more and more people come here, we can only see it improving and increasing in popularity.”