“Tourism is, in fact, a key driver of world economic growth. China now is not only the fastest-growing tourism source market for the world but also for the South Pacific region. We warmly welcome more Chinese tourists and hope they can help us maintain the sustainable development of our region’s tourism industry,” Chris Cocker, CEO of the Suva-based South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) highlighted in a recent interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the two-day China-Fiji tourism symposium organized in Nadi, the third largest city in Fiji.
Cocker expressed his approval with the Chinese outbound market as a possible source market to counterbalance the decrease of visitor arrivals from the region’s traditional source markets.
“There are a growing number of Pacific countries, including SPTO members, exploring the Chinese outbound market as a potential source market to offset the decline of visitor arrivals from our traditional source markets, such as Australia. In contrast, China’s market share rose dramatically to 7 percent in 2017 from only 3 percent in 2013,” he said.
“Over the last five years, Chinese arrivals to Pacific island countries (PICs) grew by an average of 13.36 percent, increasing from 88,708 in 2014 to 153,119 in 2015, the peak year … in 2019 Chinese arrivals to PICs is forecast to rebound …”
Likewise, regarding shares, the arrival of Chinese tourists to PICs recorded a share of 4.9 percent in 2014 before showing a major rise to 8.1 percent in 2015, the peak year, before declining to a share of 5.9 percent in 2018, he added.
Described as “a milestone in the tourism cooperation between China and the South Pacific region,” Cocker mentioned that the China-Pacific Tourism Year 2019, which was introduced in Apia, Samoa in April 2019, denotes a lot for the region as this will certainly help the region in attracting more Chinese tourists.
As per Cocker, the tourism industries in China and the South Pacific region have been working hand-in-hand to make the vision of the tourism year a reality.
The Pacific tourism industry is currently working on programs to be “China Ready,” and the aim is to sustainably expand and endorse the Pacific to niche Chinese outbound market segments who wish to experience the region’s beautiful islands, unique cultures and the healthy, organic food experience of the region.
