Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[File Photo]
Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka says sports tourism has the potential to rake in millions of dollars, but he admits that Fiji’s sporting facilities need attention.
Gavoka says several sporting activities are lined up for Fiji, which will create hundreds of jobs.
He says the government will start focusing on improving sporting facilities to attract visitors who will ultimately contribute to the economy.
The Minister for Tourism says work is already underway to ensure that sports tourism also becomes a driving factor in building the national economy.
“In the next couple of weeks or so, we are going to have wind surfing, and you are going to have surfing because rugby is happening already with the Drua and all that. That is all part of the marketing thing; there are some talks on rugby league also returning here, and there is the Spartan thing in November, with just over 3,000 people. All these things add up, and when you hold something like that in Fiji, it encourages others to come consider Fiji.”
Gavoka acknowledges that sporting facilities are not up to standard.
“Our facilities need to grow with it; stadiums will be part of sports tourism going forward. Our stadiums today are okay, but there is an awareness and a recognition that we need to up our game.”
Gavoka says the government will not necessarily build the facilities promised by the previous government but will build facilities that are decent and are able to host big sporting activities.
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