SUVA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Fiji on Tuesday reported a 5.8 percent rise in visitor arrivals for the first four months of this year compared with last year.

Fiji's Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Premila Kumar said in the parliament that the island nation's tourism earnings achieved 366.6 million Fijian dollars (about 168.4 million U.S. dollars) in the first four months of this year while it recorded 358.2 million Fijian dollars (about 164.6 million U.S. dollars) for the corresponding period of last year.

The minister also said that the 2019-2020 financial year will see the delivery of two A350's by the national carrier of Fiji Airways, which will give the country and its tourism industry a bigger footprint and a world-class travel experience.

As a nation with a population of around 900,000, Fiji has 333 islands and is located in the hub of the Pacific region.

Last year, Fiji received more than 870,000 visitors and its tourism earnings achieved a record 1.9 billion Fijian dollars (about 873 million U.S. dollars).

To further develop its tourism industry, Fiji has a target of achieving 2.2 billion Fijian dollars (about 1.01 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021.

In recent years, China has become Fiji's most rapidly growing market. The annual Chinese visitor arrivals in the island nation in the past five years had grown from 28,333 in 2014 to 49,271 in 2018, registering an increase of around 74 percent.