FIJI EYES AUSTRALIA’S BACKPACKER MARKET: It’s targetting 20% of its backpackers
Dionisia Tabureguci (Islands Business, September 2006)
This was what Michael Nacola, Head of Sales at Fiji’s national airline, Air Pacific, had to say about Australia’s backpacker market during a backpacker symposium held in Nadi two months ago: “In the year ending September 2005, there were over 495,000 backpackers in Australia. Of this, 67 percent were from the United Kingdom/Europe/Germany and United States of America. If Fiji can encourage 20 percent of the backpackers in Australia to include a Fiji visit, it would lead to over 99,000 visitors and the industry would be worth F$122 million.”
Making it happen would no doubt involve a lot of hard work but there it is: a bit about the potential in the backpacker segment of the tourism market.
While Fiji is known to put a lot of emphasis on big dollar tourism where hotel project bills run into the millions and ratings like four and half or five stars have nice rings to them, the backpacker market and how it functions has not gone unnoticed.
Backpackers tend to spend more than non-backpackers, stay longer and are likely to return to the destination. Some 79 percent of them, according to Nacola’s statistics, pay for their accommodation locally compared to 17 percent in the non-backpacker market.
The last proper survey done on the market was in 2002 by Fiji’s Bureau of Statistics. It showed that backpackers made up 19 percent of total visitor arrivals during that year.
An International Visitor Survey in 2005 showed that backpackers spent an average of $632 per visit compared to $621 by non-backpacker visitors.
“We see good potential in the backpacker market, particularly from emerging markets, such as United Kingdom and Europe.
Interest from Australia is also increasing and with continued sales and marketing efforts from the likes of Air Pacific and Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau, growth in this segment should continue,” Nacola told ISLANDS BUSINESS.
“Product offerings in Fiji are expanding with the increase in backpacker-styled accommodation and the increase in sea access with Yasawa Flyer and Sea Fiji transfers. Government has indicated it is committed to growing this market which is another positive indicator for growth.”
In November, the Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau (FIVB) will participate in the Sydney Backpackers Expo in an attempt to lure a portion of backpackers that visit Australia to Fiji.
Through FIVB, the tourism ministry’s marketing arm, the government had been plying time into positioning Fiji as a backpackers’ destination.
“This segment of the market is very important to us as reflected in our level of commitment,” said Viliame Gavoka, FIVB’s chief executive officer.
“We have specialists in the field overseeing destination marketing. This includes advertising in key markets, participation in key trade shows overseas, symposiums, production of suitable literatures, hosting of websites, hosting of the media, travel trade and so on.”
Gavoka said there was room for growth in this market with the Yasawa group mostly benefitting from it.
These benefits, he added, should gradually spread to other parts of the Fiji group and the key to that happening would be by way of better communications by road, sea and air as backpackers would require that travelling is safe and reliable.
So what does Fiji offer backpackers? Nacola pointed to the usual mix: the people, sun, sea, sand, ecotourism as well as good access from key gateway points to Fiji.
To sponge off the benefits, the national airline said it was closely working with backpacker specialists in key source markets to increase awareness of Fiji’s offerings.
It has also launched special packages designed to attract backpackers.
On the ground however, much is yet to be done. Gavoka said while this was an industry where the benefits were felt directly by landowners as most ecotourism resorts were owned by indigenous Fijians, this segment of the market still needed intervention by government and established stakeholders to strengthen their operations and lift the standards of offerings across Fiji.
“There are concerns that some operations are not up to the mark and in danger of jeopardising the whole backpacker segment.
“In short, the challenge is for the Fiji backpacker product to consistently deliver on the promise.
“It can be done and should be done to reward these indigenous resource owners who are willing to take the risk to develop their resources for Fiji’s economy to grow,” Gavoka said.
