Tourism Solomons is celebrating its best first-quarter international visitor intake since 2019.

Figures released by the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) for Q1 show the destination attracted 4,903 visitors, an increase of 24% over the 3,940 achieved for the same period in 2023.

Australian arrivals dominated the statistics, climbing 4% from 1,426 to 1,484. New Zealand numbers also increased significantly, up 39% from 236 to 329, while visitors from Fiji rose 11%, from 399 to 358. The most robust result came from Papua New Guinea, where visitor numbers soared from 261 to 478 for the quarter, an impressive increase of over 84%.

However, the only decline came from the United States, where visitor arrivals dropped by 5%, from 351 to 330.

While the 2024 Q1 numbers fall short of the 6,042 achieved in the record-breaking Q1 of 2019, Tourism Solomons CEO (acting), Dagnal Dereveke, highlighted the positive impact of strategic marketing efforts and partnerships with Solomon Airlines.

“Our 2024 marketing strategy continues to be focused on rebuilding and growing the numbers in our key source markets,” Mr. Dereveke said.

Written by: Jill Walsh

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