Hiroyoshi Yoshikawa, the chairperson of Asco Motors, has said that the decline in the tourism industry of Fiji has definitely had an affect on the car hire business. This means that the company basically didn’t perform well last year or in the first quarter of this year.

Asco is the firm that is over the operations of the Fiji brand of Avis Rent-A-Car, and Yoshikawa also noted that there have been other declines within the business of the company, including car sales and the amount of hired vehicles has decreased in the last few years. However, he did add that he was confident for the future revival for the industry. He even argued that the signs have been appearing to mark the possibility of the recovery in the economy within the next year.

The primary responsibility of the lackluster of the figures in the industry and economic uncertainty in this country lies in the 2006 coup. In conjunction with less foreign visitors, the sales of new vehicles has also decreased by a little more than 17%, but the company chairperson thinks that the sales in vehicles and car hire will grow by the end of the year and into 2009 with the preparation of the elections in the country.

The Samoa automotive business did well this year despite the problems in Fiji, and there are clear signs of growing in this market of the firm’s operations. The South Pacific Games, which was hosted in Samoa, did have a lot do with this growth, though.

www.asco.com.fj