Holidaymakers Urged to Keep Coming to Fiji

Awesome Adventures Backpackers Lend a Hand in Clean Up

Despite Cyclone Winston causing widespread damage to many areas of the Yasawa Islands of Fiji last weekend, 15 resorts in the region have advised they will be able to re-open within the week and backpackers travelling in the islands with Awesome Adventures Fiji are out helping with the clean up, as are many holidaymakers throughout Fiji.

The resilience and pluck of the Fijian people and the kindness and generosity of visitors is truly remarkable, says CEO of Awesome Adventures Fiji and South Seas Cruises, Peter Duncan.

“Thousands of villagers don't have a home any more and have just the clothes they are standing in but, amazingly, they are smiling again already like they have everything.

“In the coming days we will know more with teams of volunteering holidaymakers going to outlying villages and helping at resorts. But right now we are going to be quite blatant in saying come on over to Fiji – we will ensure everyone is accommodated and goes home having had a wonderful Fiji experience.”

Mr Duncan said that tourism is the life blood of Fiji with many families dependent on jobs at the resorts and in associated businesses. “To be candid, the best way to help Fiji to recover is for visitors to come on over, spend their holiday dollars, and help these warm welcoming people keep their jobs and feed their families.”

Awesome's Yasawa Flyer resort connection vessel was able to call at most resorts yesterday and returned to Port Denarau last night with information about the status.

“With no electricity, no internet and no mobile phone coverage, there was no way to communicate and we did not know how they had fared,” he said.  “We are relieved to finally learn what has happened in these stunningly beautiful islands.  We know now that while some properties cannot yet predict when they will open again, nearly half of the resorts packaged by Awesome Adventures Fiji will be able to welcome our guests again within a matter of days.”

Mr Duncan said it was planned to have in place in the next couple of days an initiative to help provide relief to these villages most impacted. 

“We will advise details as soon as we can.  There are many very kind people in Australia and New Zealand, and as far away as Europe and the United States, that have contacted us wanting to help so our plan is to make it easy for them to be able to donate towards the recovery of these communities.”

He said the Awesome Adventures Fiji, South Seas Cruises and Blue Lagoon Cruises websites continue to be the best source of information with updates scheduled twice daily.

“We still have limited access to email and telephones in our office at Port Denarau.  Until electricity is restored we are operating at a very limited capacity with only a small number of staff, and we're relying on a generator set to produce just enough power to run the essentials.”

The Fiji Electricity Authority has advised it hopes to restore electricity to the Port Denarau region on Friday.

The websites to refer to for the regular updates are:

www.ssc.com.fj

www.awesomefiji.com

www.bluelagooncruises.com

www.vinakafiji.org.fj

ENDS

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