SUVA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 500 tourism stakeholders are attending the 2019 Fijian Tourism Expo (FTE) held from Wednesday to Friday at the Denarau Island Convention Center in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city on Thursday.

The FTE, the island nation's premier tourism industry event, allows Fiji's major tourism stakeholders to promote their products to international buyers in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Germany and India.

This year marks the sixth consecutive year for the annual event, designing a unique Fiji travel experience for international buyers and media. Organized by Tourism Fiji, the event provides a cross-sectoral platform for tourism partners to directly engage with international buyers and travel trade media.

The event has grown with a view of building a bigger and better tourism industry in a sustainable and holistic way. The FTE 2019 will build on and enhance the previous year's event to showcase the great diversity and quality of products in Fiji to old and new international industry partners.

The FTE 2019 is for anyone passionate about being an integral part of the growth and development of the Fijian tourism industry.

The tourism industry, the country's largest foreign exchange earner, has contributed significantly to Fiji's economy. The industry provides employment directly and indirectly to an estimated 45,000 people and is the fastest growing industry in terms of employment in the island nation.

Fiji, a nation with a population of around 900,000, had more than 870,000 visitors in 2018.

The value of tourism in Fiji drives Tourism Fiji to continue to deliver a world-leading destination and to help travel sellers around the world understand the beauty and character of Fiji.