Tracks n trails

 

Tourist activities in the Mamanuca group.

Tourism is huge in Fiji. It contributes nearly 40% to the GDP and provides livelihood to around 118,000 people. It indirectly impacts many local industries in agriculture, fisheries, retail and others. Naturally the pandemic was a devastating blow, but with more than 75% of the population vaccinated and the loosening of restrictions, the sector has made a strong comeback. Take a look at the arrival figures over the years to see the importance of tourism on Fiji. Read about how the pandemic flattened it in 2020/21 here. 

Sources : Visitor Arrivals, Population. 

Before the pandemic hit, from 2017 onwards, Fiji welcomed tourists in numbers almost equal to its own population every year. In practical terms that means every 12th/13th person you encounter at any given time in Fiji is a tourist. In other words, you'll come across foreign travellers everywhere you go. 

Tourists swimming in Wailoaloa Beach in Nadi Bay.

Most tourists come to Fiji from Australia, New Zealand, USA and other Pacific Island nations. A small number of travellers come from UK and Continental Europe. Market development efforts have been going on lately in China, Japan and Canada to attract visitors from these countries. Fiji Airways has recently started a direct flight to Vancouver and Narita/Tokyo.  The Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport is currently in industry wide consultations to develop a National Sustainable Tourism Framework, a ten year developmental plan for the tourism sector in Fiji. Read more on that here and find the tracks and trails on offer at the Fiji Tourism site by clicking here.

The backstory and milestones

The history of Fiji tourism makes for interesting reading. As with many other things, we have to start with the coming of the Europeans. The foreign settlers established the modern town of Levuka in the 1820s for the trade of sea cucumbers. Levuka was on an island called the Ovalau, a much smaller island off the Eastern coast of Viti Levu. It soon became an important transport hub and a bustling commercial centre. By 1860s the Royal Hotel, the first hotel in the South Pacific islands, had opened its doors to guests. 

When the modern nation of Fiji was established in 1871, Levuka was made its capital and the new Fijian King Cakobau was crowned there. The capital was moved to Suva in 1877 after the country was ceded to the British Crown in 1874, mostly because there was little space in Levuka to expand. The Royal Hotel, incidentally, is still in operation and Levuka has become a UNESCO heritage site.

Screenshot showing the relative positions of Nadi, Suva and Levuka. 

The next milestone came about because the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, at the time a major player in sea transport in the Southern hemisphere, wanted a some fancy accommodations for their steamship tourists enroute to Hawaii or Australia, who often made a stopover at Fiji. Enter the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva in 1914. It was designed with large French windows and great verandahs right next to the Suva harbour. Several famous personalities came to stay in the hotel, including Queen Elizabeth, twice - once on her first overseas trip after her coronation in 1953 and again 20 years later. 

In 1951 the first commercial flight of Fiji Airways took off. Followed by a building boom  in the 1960s -  many new hotels, including the Outrigger, Fijian, Tradewinds and others came up all over the capital and outside. In Nadi, the first of the Tanoa hotel chain was set up. Fiji Visitors Bureau, the precursor to Tourism Fiji, was established in 1969. 

Incidentally, Fiji Airways is one the pioneers in code share arrangements with other airlines. Tourist arrivals have jumped as and when the airlines has expanded its flight networks, either independently or through code share partners. 

Hospitality workers welcoming guests with traditional Fijian music.
Vunivadra Island, Fiji.

Meanwhile, the first private tour operators also set up shop - read about one of them here. Rosie Tours was started in 1974 by Rosie and Tony Whitton, a family owned business which has expanded from 4 to over 600 staff now. Other  farsighted individuals/ operators developed island properties, offered cruises and package tours. Read about some of the pioneers who laid the foundations for Fijian tourism here.  

Therefore, Fiji has a long history of market development in tourism and has now emerged as a popular destination in the South Pacific region. Even when it has been rocked by political turmoil and/or civil unrest, tourists arrivals have quickly normalised. It is considered a safe haven for tourists, unaffected by terrorism and the stresses of modern, urban lives. The Fijian tourism sector is hoping to build upon this and leverage its existing strengths for a sustainable future.

 

Tourists on the Natadola Beach on the Coral Coast. 

All this month I'm writing about Aspects of Fiji, which is where I'm at the mo. And where the sum of its terrific parts is totally greater than the whole!

Did you know that the sperm whale's tooth, called Tabua, were traditionally revered objects in Fijian culture, exchanged on significant occasions such as weddings and worn exclusively by the nobility? Sometimes the tooth was used singly, at others a number of teeth were strung together in a necklace called sisi. Both polished and unpolished whale ivory  were used. The material that strung the ivory together was derived from pandanus leaves, coconut fibres and/or bark cloth. Even today, whale ivory is considered extremely valuable by Fijians, although no whaling goes on in Fiji. What you see being sold in souvenir shops are replicas. Trade in Tabua is strictly controlled, only a specific small number are allowed for export/import, as is evident from this article. 

Whale's tooth. 'an important token of esteem and atonement in
Fijian culture. Normally presented to high ranking officials and
chiefs, their acceptance binds the receiver morally and spiritually
 to the giver.' Just one other thing I never had a clue about till I
touched down in Fiji...

Whale ivory necklace - sisi. Fiji Museum. 

~ Thank you for reading ~

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2023