For tourism operators in the West, it is back to business as usual once the clean-ups have been completed, with high occupancies confirmed everywhere.
This was highlighted by the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association CEO, Fantasha Lockington, to fijivillage News when asked about updates of resorts in the West, saying tourism operators do this by having staff that is on hand to prepare businesses for the storm and to keep property and guests safe while they wait out the bad weather.
Lockington says additionally, most tourism properties and related businesses have backup power and water for times like these that are always carefully planned for.
She says with rescheduled or cancelled flights, guests who were not able to depart as scheduled and those who have been moved from island resorts have all been accommodated on the mainland.
The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association CEO says for Fiji Airways flights, they recommend people check with the airline, but generally flights are back on again with some delays based on yesterday's international and domestic rescheduling – so she has no doubt they will be able to catch up within a day at least.
She says the airline provides updates to most tourism businesses directly, so passengers are aware of delays or reschedules.
Lockington says now that the weather system has passed, the priority is to ensure guests can depart once air and vessel services are back up, and that the general cleanup around the business can take place.
She says for maritime services, they are awaiting MSAF to lift the currently in-place Stop Sail Notice that restricts vessel movements during storms or cyclones.
The CEO says the quicker they can get stranded guests to the airport from island resorts, the better.
She says most tourism-related areas have only suffered minor damage to trees and gardens, and for marine operators, then that usually means a lot more debris on the beaches and in the waters that could affect safe navigation.
Lockington says the next step is to get a change of staff and to check on how your other staff are faring.
She knows some operators allow staff to stay with them or close to them if they either could not get home or prefer to stay close because they live much further out of Nadi.
