Solomon Islands Sees 45.1% Drop in Arrivals for Q1 2024 Despite Annual Increase

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The Solomon Islands National Statistics Office has released its latest Statistical Bulletin for International Arrivals, revealing a notable decrease in the total number of arrivals for the first quarter of 2024.

According to the report, the total number of arrivals was 10,159, marking a 45.1% decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

Acting Government Statistician Samson Kanamoli highlighted that despite the quarterly decrease, there was a significant annual increase of 22.1% compared to the same quarter in 2023.

The report details that returning residents comprised 51.0% of all arrivals for the first quarter of 2024, followed by visitors at 48.3%, and intending residents making up less than 1.0%.

Visitor arrivals sharply declined by 57.0% to 4,903 in Q1 2024, compared to 11,415 in Q4 2023. However, there was a 25.7% increase annually from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024.

International Arrivals, revealing a notable decrease in the total number of arrivals for the first quarter of 2024. Photo by Tourism Solomon
Regarding the country of residence, visitors from Australia represented the largest group, making up 30.5% of all visitors, despite a 51.4% decrease from the previous quarter. The next largest groups of visitors were from Fiji (10.2%), Papua New Guinea (9.5%), and other Asian countries (9.0%).

March recorded the highest number of arrivals within the quarter, with 2,042 visitors, followed by February with 1,543 visitors, and January with 1,318 visitors.

The first quarter of 2024 also saw a total of 1,463 tourists, 1,181 of whom cited holidays and vacations as their purpose of travel. Tourists spent an average of 13 days in the country, with Australia contributing the highest proportion of tourists at 31.8%.

The primary reason for visiting the Solomon Islands during this period was for "Other Reasons" at 32.4%, followed by business and conference at 24.8%, holiday and vacation at 24.1%, visiting friends or relatives at 13.0%, and transit and stopover at 5.8%.

Age distribution data showed that 75.0% of visitors were between 25 and 64 years old, 17.1% were between 0 and 24 years old, and 7.8% were 65 or older. Male visitors comprised 66.8% of the total arrivals, with female visitors comprising 33.2%.

Regarding occupation, the "Professional and Technical" category was the largest, making up 41.2% of visitors. This was followed by administration and managerial roles at 16.3%, those not working at 11.8%, students at 7.7%, and other occupations at 6.0%.

Solomon Airlines was the most popular carrier during the quarter, transporting 39.4% of visitors, followed by Air Niugini at 28.9%, Qantas at 20.6%, Fiji Airways at 9.9%, and unscheduled flights at 1.3%.

Brisbane-Munda flights commenced their weekly schedule in February 2024. Due to delays in arrival cards from the Munda Immigration Office, statistics for Brisbane-Munda visitors in Q1 2024 will be updated in the second quarter of 2024 release.

Media Release | Solomon Islands National Statistic Office

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