Research Note: Contribution of Foreign Direct Investment to the Tourism Sector in Fiji: An Empirical Study

Abstract

In the midst of declining external demand due to the world economic downturn since 2008, the tourism sector has emerged as a major source of support to the South Pacific island countries, including Fiji. Tourists from the region's two advanced economies, Australia and New Zealand, find Fiji a more affordable tourist destination than distant European and Asian holiday resorts. The development of the tourism sector in Fiji owes much to foreign direct investment (FDI) in hotels, resorts and other infrastructural facilities. This paper uses bounds cointegration technique and investigates the contribution of FDI to Fiji's tourism sector. The analysis identifies positive associations between FDI and tourism earnings as well as between currency depreciation and tourism earnings.

Keywords

tourism sector foreign direct investment bounds cointegration test Fiji

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