Suva, May 22 (IANS): Fiji has received more than 119,000 international tourists since the island nation reopened its borders in December last year, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced on Sunday.

Bainimarama said Fiji received over 46,000 visitors in April, bringing the total arrivals this year to more than 95,000, Xinhua news agency quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

Meanwhile, Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Trade and Tourism Shaheen Ali said that the April figures show 61 per cent of arrivals at pre-Covid levels.

According to the government, Fiji is expected to receive 447,000 tourists this year.

The tourism industry, which accounts for about 35 per cent of Fiji's gross domestic product and employs approximately 150,000 people directly and indirectly, is the backbone of the island nation's economy and the biggest foreign exchange earner.

The country received more than 800,000 visitors per year before the pandemic.