Fiji's government is inviting developers and operators to declare their interest in managing the country's first casino project.
Attorney General and Minister for Tourism Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the government considers this development to be a way of attracting more visitors from markets such as China, Europe, India and the US.
"The obvious economic benefits from such a development, which will create another segment in the tourism sector, will be job creation as well as additional revenue for the government," he said.
However, the government stressed the importance of working with "internationally-successful" and "reputable" developers and operators.
"While casino operations means Fiji is developing leisure activities for the tourism industry, at the same time we do not want to harm Fiji’s tourism brand, which the government and the people of Fiji have invested so much in," Sayed-Khaiyum said.
There will also be laws put in place to protect local residents and minimise potential social problems, he explained, noting the positive steps taken by the authorities in Malaysia and Singapore.
Invitations for expressions of interest have already been advertised in The Economist and will soon be advertised elsewhere internationally.
