Praneeta Prakash 
Recent data reveals that 16,182 Fiji residents left the country last month marking a significant movement of people for various reasons.
According to Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 14,771 residents or 91.3%, were for short-term absences of less than three months.
An additional 523 residents, representing 3.2%, went away for over three months while 888 departed for a year or more.
According to FBOS short-term absences included holidays, visiting friends or relatives, business engagements, employment opportunities, education or training, and other personal reasons.
The data highlights that leisure travel remains the dominant reason for short-term departures, with holidays accounting for more than half of the trips.
Visiting friends and relatives was the second most common reason, showing the importance of maintaining personal connections abroad.
