Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill says Fiji is chomping at the bit for the earmarked influx of expedition cruising to the waters of the South Pacific nation.
Speaking with LATTE at the Virtuoso AU/NZ Forum hosted at Sofitel Fiji Beach Resort & Spa, Hill said the expedition cruise market is “so well suited to Fiji”. He said expedition ships, due to their downsized scale, both in vessel size and passenger numbers, can access ports larger ships cruising to Fiji miss.
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“The opportunity with destinations such as Savusavu, and in terms of what you can see – it’s an unspoiled paradise, there are no words to describe it.”
“Not many people are living out there, so there’s a lot of opportunity,” he said.
Among the expedition cruise lines planning to visit Fiji in the coming months and years are Seabourn, Scenic, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Lindblad Expeditions and Swan Hellenic.In April 2024, Seabourn Pursuit is scheduled to visit Vanau Balavu and Yasawa, Scenic Eclipse II is earmarked to explore Fulanga Island (in the Southern Lau Group), Vanua Balavu and Ovalau; and HANSEATIC spirit will traverse Ovalau and Taveuni.
On cruising in general, Hill said he was still keen to have discussions with the Fiji Government, and potentially aid agencies and port facilities, to deliver infrastructure for some of the bigger cruise ship operators, flagging the idea of a cruise ship facility off the coast of Denarau.
“In an ideal world, you’d build a purpose-built cruise terminal – for example here in Denarau – which would be positioned away from the coast as the water is too shallow. You see that for example in the Caribbean that can cater for two, three, four, five ships and turn them around on a very basic wharf.”
Hill continued, saying “the ships are going to come, so our conversations with the cruise lines is how this can be done sustainably. What are the steps that you are taking, and then what can we do on the land side to cater for that.”
He said ships with 3,000 plus passengers require a “big effort” to accommodate in Fiji, noting that there are destinations they are unable to handle that volume of tourists.
Meanwhile, The Tourism Fiji Investment Prospectus 2023, released last week by Investment Fiji and Tourism Fiji, highlights “investment opportunities” in supporting infrastructure and specifies opportunities exist for “cruise/yacht terminals etc”.
