ABOUT 13,966 arrivals have been recorded for Solomon Islands for the third quarter of 2024.
That’s according to the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) in their report released at the eve of Christmas on Monday 23 December.
The report highlights that the total international arrivals of persons for the third quarter of 2024 was 13,966.
This is an increase of 11.5% compared to the previous quarter (2nd quarter 2024).
Compared to the same quarter a year ago, total arrivals significantly increased to 28.2%.
Returning residents make up the largest entrances, comprising of 50.1% of all arrivals for the third quarter of 2024, the report states.
Visitors record 49.4% of all arrivals and the remaining less than 1.0% were intending residents.
Visitor arrivals for the third quarter increased by 7.1% to 6,903 visitors, compared to the second quarter 2024 figure of 6,446 visitors.
From the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2024, visitor arrivals increased by 22.7% in visitor arrivals, the report reveals.
The report states that returning residents, followed by the visitor category, comprise the largest proportion of all arrivals, while intending resident categories make up the lesser share this quarter.
Visitors by Country of Residence
Arrivals by country of residence for the third quarter of 2024 show that visitors from Australia make up the largest (32.4%) group of visitors to Solomon Islands.
This is a decrease of 0.7% in arrivals representing 2,234 Australian visitors in the third quarter compared to the second quarter of 2024 figure of 2,250.
The next largest group of visitors was from the United States of America (11.2%) followed by Other Asian Countries (9.1%), China (8.9%), Fiji (7.5%), New Zealand (7.3%), Papua New Guinea (6.9%), Other European Countries (4.4%), Vanuatu (3.3%), Other Pacific Countries (2.8%), Japan (2.3%), United Kingdom (1.7%), Other Countries (1.5%), and less than 1% for Canada and Germany.
Tourists
The third quarter of 2024 recorded 2,471 tourists, out of which 2,186 tourists reported having a holiday and vacation as their purpose of travel.
Tourists spent an average of 11 days in the country. Australia made up the highest proportion of tourists (32.5%) during the quarter.
Visitors by Purpose of Visit
The most common reason for visitors visiting the Solomon Islands during the quarter was for Holiday (31.7%).
This was followed by Other Reasons (26.4%), Business and Conference (24.9%), Visit Friends or Relatives (12.8%), and 4.1% for Transit and Stopover.
Visitors by Occupation
Visitors by Occupation show that the “Professional and Technical” category comprise the largest percentage of occupations (36.1%) during the quarter.
This was followed by Administration and Managerial (17.3%), Not Working (13.8%), Other Occupation (7.5%), Student (7.0%), Production and Related Work (6.4%), Service Worker (5.7%), Sales Worker (2.9%), Clerical and related work (1.8%), and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (1.3%).
The remaining 0.1% of visitors did not state their occupation. Males outnumber females in all arrivals of visitors by occupations from professional to agricultural forestry and fishery.
Visitor by Carrier
The most popular carriers during the quarter were Solomon Airlines which carried (38.1%) of total visitors, followed by Air Niugini (28.9%), Qantas (21.7%), Fiji Airways (7.2%) and Unscheduled Flights (4.1%).
