Many Australians and New Zealanders no longer want to visit Fiji

Australian tourists are picking lesser-known Pacific islands for their tropical winter breaks to avoid the political instability in military-led Fiji, leaders claim.

The leaders of two Pacific nations, Samoa and the Cook Islands, say their tourist numbers are on the rise because many Australians and New Zealanders no longer want to visit Fiji.

They say that the refusal of Frank Bainimarama's regime to take the country to elections since staging a December 2006 coup has been an "active turn-off" for visitors.

Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele says the global economic crisis has hit his country hard, cutting employment rates and remittance earnings - but tourism appears to be booming.

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