FHTA Tourism Talanoa: Working Hard on Staying Safe

Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association, 29 August 2024 – The role of security in the tourism industry is generally taken for granted.

Yet a significant branding element for Fiji as a preferred destination is based on the perceived safety of the country – that freedom allowed to explore the country, enjoy the beaches, oceans, forest and trails, and of course the entertainment and shopping.

From the security offered by smiling police patrols in and around the city environs to the quiet perimeter checking of the security staff around resorts, hotels, ports, restaurants and shopping areas.

The safety we so often take for granted is usually provided by foot and vehicular patrols of thousands of our security staff in various modes of uniform helping you get in and out of places while keeping an eye out for trouble in any form.

To mitigate security risks, tourism operators are always made aware of and reminded to adhere to the Security Industry Act (2010), ensuring that their security measures are effective and legally compliant with standards of work, wages and employment conditions.

For tourism operators, compliance with these licensing requirements is essential, whether they manage their security in-house or outsource these services, as compliance includes verifying that any outsourced security providers hold a valid Security Master Licence and establishing clear contracts that outline the legal responsibilities of the provider.

The Master Licence is essentially a legal authorisation for companies or individuals to engage in security-related activities.

For hotels employing its own security staff, a resort hiring a security consultant, or a tour company installing CCTV systems; all are expected to hold a valid Master Licence to operate legally.

The Master Licence is not just a legal obligation; it’s a commitment to upholding the highest standards of security within their establishments, with significant legal consequences associated with non-compliance that include fines up to $10,000 for organisations and up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for individuals.

And in tourism, security staff can generally be seen managing entry and exits to resorts, and do so with a wave and hearty BULA! for the most part.

During the high seasons, your friendly security gate staff might also stop you at the resort entrance to confirm whether you are expected as an in-house guest or to stop for a scheduled meeting or conference.

But the high seasons we have experienced over the last few years have put a strain on resort and hotel services with most places experiencing high staff turnover caused by the increasing labour mobility movement overseas and the ensuing training cycles for onboarding new staff.

This in turn puts pressure on food and beverage services that can reach bursting point when the hotel or resort is also accommodating an extra 200-300 people for a conference or forum.

General “walk-ins” therefore might be discouraged and international and local visitors who have not been expected by the resort through a confirmed booking and were hoping to stop by for an impromptu snack, have lunch or even just take a coffee break during their drive, can expect to be turned away.

Larger urban-based properties with access to several snack locations with sufficient staff might encourage unexpected “walk-ins”, but resorts and hotels away from the usual tourism hotspots, in rural areas and who usually have less access to staff, must better manage their services to prioritise their in-house guests needs.

It is also these more isolated resorts that must take security more seriously now. Security staff at the gates might therefore not allow you entry and while FHTA has encouraged using explanatory fliers to be handed out at these points to better explain the reason for turning people away, confrontations do take place when people decide to argue with the security staff about the reasoning behind being turned away when not explained well enough.

Managing confrontations with people demanding entry may therefore result in security staff adopting a more abrupt approach. They might be tasked with only allowing entry to expected guests, visitors, delivery and hired staff with the need to provide identification.

Allowing entry to unexpected visitors looking for a coffee or a meal exerts even more pressure on already high-demand food and beverage services that are further slowed with even more demand added while resulting in complaints for poor or slow services and even perceptions of discrimination.

Plus there are now more restaurants, service stations, shopping and stopping spots with small eateries and access to clean washrooms that welcome travellers all along our highways.

The less discussed, but wide experiences with security breaches through people wandering in off beaches and highways and helping themselves to personal belongings left by in-house guests around swimming pools and beaches have also reinforced the need to better manage security risks especially when the resorts are trying to cope with a mixture of high occupancies, increasing staff gaps and/or training larger numbers of new staff.

That risk is managed by putting more security staff to work at entry and exit points to reduce the pressure on high-demand food and beverage services, access to washrooms being used by in-house guests especially the pool and beach areas, reducing pilferage from procurement and stock areas, and endeavour to keep guests and their families reasonably safe where they are relaxing.

The need for good security has seen a significant rise in demand through the increasing focus on keeping children safe, being aware of drug use or peddling, and even keeping a wary eye on illegal marine activities if you are an island resort.

And that includes discouraging the random photographing of children without the express approval of their parents – regardless of whether they are visitors or locals.

That the industry can rely on well-trained security staff to reduce risks and keep properties and people safe, all while complying with the requirements of the Security Act is serious business.

Some days everything works fine with the minimum of fuss and no complaints, and other days things simply fall apart when security fails to do what is expected and complaints have to be dealt with.

Keeping our visitors safe is an industry-wide expectation and practice.

We know all too well; how quickly international media blow up a story on any perceived risks because they too realise how much our destination branding relies on this safety aspect.

Perhaps they’re envious of how hard we try and how successful we have been thus far.

And how hard we will keep working to keep it that way because our economy needs this success.
Fantasha Lockington – CEO, FHTA (Published in the Fiji Times on 29 August 2024)