Please find below a copy of the speech made by the Minister of Industry,Trade,Tourism, Lands and Minerals the Hon. Faiyaz Koya at the opening of Hotec 2016 on Wednesday 09 November 2016 at the Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau.
Download official speech here:
HON. MR FAIYAZ KOYA MINISTER INDUSTRY, TRADE & TOURISM
Opening of HOTEC 2016 TRADESHOW
- Sheraton Fiji Resort,Denarau.
- 09 November 2016, 0900 Hours
The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association Board of Directors, Members of FHTA and the Fiji Chefs’ Association, Tourism Industry Stakeholders and Exhibitors, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Bula vinaka and good morning to you all.
It is indeed an honor to be here this morning to celebrate with you the 13 th HOTEC Fiji tradeshow.
Ladies and Gentlemen\I commend the organizers – Fiji Hotels and Tourism Association and the Fiji Chefs Association for their commitment towards this important event – and thank youall, participants and exhibitors for your presence here this morning.
I understand that we have both local and international exhibitors present today and it gives me great pleasure to extend a special warm welcome to Vendella International from New Zealand who is here for the first time. Bula vinaka and welcome to Fiji.
Also present today ladies and gentlemen, an exhibitor who is now participating for the 11 th time – Vintech Systems, great to have you back this year.
Ladies and Gentlemen
We all must look forward to the next 3 days, especially the Moffat Salon Culinaire, where our local chefs and baristas
will battle it out to see who will cook up the best that will surely describe Fiji’s abundant resources and produce and of course, Fiji’s divine and luscious cuisine.
Through these competitions and event, I strongly believe we can build on effectively utilizing our local produce in the tourism industry. To this end, my Ministry in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on such a project and I am pleased to announce that at the end of this month we will be piloting a contemporary island cuisine training for our resort chefs in the Yasawas.
We have invited world-renowned chef Mr. Colin Chung to share his experience, research and teachings with our local chefs and help develop our culinary tourism niche. We are excited of this initiative which we hope will spread to other tourism regions and at the same time, strengthen the linkages with other economic sectors such as agriculture.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Through such trainings we aim to raise the overall profile of our food – which we all know is delicious! Furthermore, injecting a little creativity, confidence and Fijian flair willfurther refresh our local cuisine together with what we proudly showcase to our visitors.
Ladies and Gentlemen The tourism sector has made significant contributions to the Fijian economy and in 2014, contributed 29.4% to our
GDP. Additionally, there has been an upward trend in visitor arrivals over the past 5 years with even more encouraging results in tourism earnings.
In addition, the Fijian Government has set a bold target of FJD$2.2 billion tourism receipts by the year 2021 and undoubtedly this task will most certainly require all our combined efforts. We are also working towards having the Fiji Tourism Forum in March next year and in the course of the next few months, we will be conducting stakeholder consultation on key projects the Ministry is currently undertaking such as the Hotel Data Collection System and Tourism Masterplan.
Ladies and Gentlemen
My ministry is also working on releasing the findings of the 2014 International Visitor Survey, which will assist the industry in terms of understanding our visitor impressions and market trends.
At this juncture, I take this time to commend the tireless efforts of the industry in promoting Destination Fiji and stamping ourselves on the global map. Just last week I received news that eight (8) of our tourism properties won special awards for their luxury offerings and exceptional service delivery at the recent World Luxury Hotel Awards in Qatar.
Winning such accolades is a testimony to the service we deliver so congratulations to all winners and I look forward to many more awards for the industry!
Ladies and Gentlemen
I hope that over the next few days you will all actively 6 engage in fruitful discussions and valuable exchanges and confidently strengthening your networking and business opportunities. So I urge you all to enjoy our hospitality and Fijian cuisine and leave HOTEC 2016 healthier and better than when you arrived. With those few words I declare HOTEC 2016 – open for business!
Thank you and Vinaka vakalevu!
