Keeping Fiji bang on track for a record breaking year, the country’s international visitor arrival figures have continued to climb with figures released by Tourism Fiji for April 2010 showing a 13.2 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2009.

This marks the highest ever visitor arrival figure for a month of April on record and the national tourist office is optimistic that if this trend continues numbers will surpass the targets set for the year.

Fiji welcomed a total of 44,496 international visitors throughout the month compared with the 39,302 figure recorded for the same period in 2009. The 44,496 figure represents Fiji’s strongest April performance since 2006 when it welcomed  42,860 international visitors. The April result brings total numbers for the first four months of this year to 171,438 for the four-month period, that figure eclipsing the 2009 result of 139,642 by an impressive 22.8 per cent.

Australian visitor figures again showed the strongest result, increasing 19.6 per cent to reach 22,421. This compares with the 17,906 figure recorded for the same period in 2009. Figures from New Zealand also improved with arrivals for the month increasing from 5684 to 6320, an increase of 11.2 per cent. US figures too were up, increasing 26.2 per cent from 3526 to 4450.

The national tourist office continued to record strong results from several of its emerging Asian markets where its strong promotional efforts continue to reap dividends.

While base figures remain relatively small from China, Taiwan and South Korea, respective visitor arrivals increases of 58.per cent, 28 per cent and 24 per cent demonstrate strong potential for Fiji from all three markets.