Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association, 12 December 2024 – As the year draws to a close, it is that time of the year when organisations, industries and even smart governments take a look a long, hard look at what has been achieved that we can be proud of, own up to our not-so-proud moments and even missed opportunities.
Hindsight is 20/20 as the expression goes with things always looking more clearer retrospectively than they usually do at the time of decision-making.
Tourism businesses have had an outstanding 2024 year, surpassing all our projections and last year’s accomplishments. Just as a high tide floats all boats, the industry has taken with it all the direct and indirect supply networks that feed off its trickle-down effect.
As businesses have flourished, transport providers for land and marine travel have expanded or upgraded their fleets, and hotels & resorts are ploughing back profits to upgrade, enhance or extend their offerings through more room inventories or added services like bars, restaurants, spas and activities.
Engineering and mechanical services, construction and manufacturing companies are hiring more staff to repair, service and cater to businesses needing more boat engines, car parts, and uniforms, build faster, project manage and cater for the resulting demands.
SMEs have felt the energy spikes as well, with the demand for more activities and experiences, more beauty salons, more food, more entertainment and more creative support.
What does that involve exactly, for an industry that contributes so significantly to GDP to enable it to continue its momentum as it did, and in doing so take an entire economy along with it?
Let’s start with the phenomenal branding of our island destination that has taken Fiji to the world through Tourism Fiji’s innovative marketing strategies that captured the spirit of Fiji through connections with people, nature and culture that have resonated deeply with global travellers looking for happiness.
Nobody does “happy” like Fiji!
The national airline Fiji Airways, has demonstrated remarkable determination in shedding its “little island airline” label, taking on the “iconic airline” label instead and soaring above renowned global giants. Their efforts have been rewarded with numerous prestigious accolades, showcasing their ability to proudly carry the Fiji name across the world.
The capacity of hotels of all sizes, the cruise, land transport and air service companies, the tours, adventure, activity and a wide range of supportive elements that go towards ensuring Fiji can offer an interactive, immersive holiday destination that can cater for a range of budgets with a cross-section of soft to serious activity options that have continued to improve, be innovative and try new things has been nothing short of amazing.
That they have been able to do so for almost 12 months where they could concentrate seriously on their businesses without worrying about cyclones or serious flooding has been an added benefit that has not gone unnoticed by people in the industry.
If that sounds like it was simple or easy – we assure you, it was absolutely and unequivocally not.
Whether you were directly or indirectly involved in tourism, you’ve had your usual share of challenges that come with doing business in Fiji, that is anything but simple.
These have included the access to skilled labour that while we acknowledge has seen a plateauing of the outbound loss to labour schemes, which meant both the ramping up of in-house training programs and the dependence on more foreign workers being brought in.
The latter process brings with it almost insurmountable obstacles from payment identification challenges between agencies being applied to and that consolidated accounts abyss that all public sector payment roads lead to, while tax identification numbers that enable bank accounts to be opened so foreign workers can be paid, waited on the final work permits being issued months and sometimes up to a year later.
Hotels and restaurants with bars grappling with liquor licensing that due to no sitting of the formal liquor tribunals have been allowed longer-term provisional licenses that while welcomed, also made us nervous because they could be changed just as suddenly as they were provisionally approved; with many envying the ease with which small liquor shops have been mushrooming across our towns and cities to pop up next to service stations, only a few meters from another similar trader, or in the middle of communities with no apparent hindrances other than to society in general.
Everyone else is subjected to the required annual OHS, National Fire Authority and Health inspection requirements with payments, myriad copies of documents to be submitted with applications, and eventual certification issuances.
Marine operators must obtain licensing renewals after safety inspections that despite passing do not often result in an actual receipt of the required safety certificates – certainly not immediate or without a consistent follow-up because private sector insurance requirements demand certificates be available.
For land transport operators increasing their fleet, or moving to larger operational spaces, they must provide a registration copy with at least 4 other document provisioning that includes approvals from councils for every single vehicle being moved, as sustainability and digital copies apparently are not part of the regulators’ interest or remit.
The general expansion and enhancement plans for many tourism operators are noted as taking between 6 to 18 months to go from intention to development approval as application submissions dance their way through a series of regulatory bodies who note their own challenges that range from a lack of resources, limited staff, to needing to wait for the payment notifications from the money abyss mentioned earlier. More often than not, it is usually a case of “all of the above”.
While we have persevered, it has not gone unnoticed that our development progress, and consequently economic growth could have been significantly greater.
With heads down and sleeves rolled up, doing our best to address each challenge with a suitable solution.
Some headwinds from 2024 will continue.
Like the worsening supply chain disruptions that incur longer delays and higher costs, rising inflation with food and fuel costs, access to skilled labour, and long lead times to investments getting off the ground.
But some of these we can address ourselves through better self-sufficiency like growing more fresh produce that will reduce our reliance on imports, reviewing general educational strategies to align them to what Fiji really needs to grow its economy (e.g. fewer lawyers and more civil engineers), and far better resourcing of our public sector areas involved in regulatory approvals.
Our wish list for 2025 is simple.
2024 has been an incredible journey but to ensure we can continue the momentum means we need to increase our capacity faster, while demand is still hot.
And to ensure we remain “hot” on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit next year, we absolutely must increase the pace with which we go from concept to construct.
More investment in tourism infrastructure is needed – from the Nadi Airport expansion that we hope we don’t wait another 5 years for, to the modernisation of the water supply and waste management networks.
And lastly, despite much discussion, surveys, report writing and workshops – the faster adoption of greening our energy options while improving the current infrastructure.
Speaking of modernisation – we need to bring outdated regulations or legislation into usable versions that are easier, and not harder, to comply with. We have a long list we have been sharing far and wide.
This includes a thorough review of the Employment Relations Act that is transparent and consulted widely.
Drug testing in the workplace must be discussed and considered as part of keeping our workplaces, schools, sports facilities, and communities safer.
Increased funding for Tourism Fiji is essential. We are expanding the reach of the Fijian brand globally and more intensively in the US market. To achieve this, they need the appropriate skills and extensive reach that only larger budgets can provide.
To everyone who has been part of this journey—our members, partners, and the hardworking individuals who make Fiji’s tourism industry shine—vinaka vakalevu!
Your passion and dedication are what make this industry truly special.
Enjoy the festive season, spend time with your loved ones, and soak in the beauty of our islands.
Here’s to 2024—the year that was—and to 2025, a year of new opportunities and bigger dreams.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association.
Fantasha Lockington – CEO, FHTA (Published in the Fiji Times on 12 December 2024)
Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association
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