Fiji's Best Bet For Survival

Does Fiji possess the world's best run tourist promotion board? Possibly, but in order for the industry to survive they have to be the best. Having become imbued with the revolution of rising expectations at the time of independence in 1970, Fiji embarked on a period of tourism development that proved spectacular.

The Fijian hotel opened in 1968 with 85 rooms and within a short span of years had expanded to over 300 rooms. The industry achieved critical mass just in time to be caught up in a coup that crinkled the smooth growth curve. No sooner had the industry begun to recover than a second coup took place, in May 2000. Local travel industry people were thrown into a state of despair. Tourist arrivals plummeted. In many reasonably well-established markets, Fiji's attractions went begging. Fiji was unsafe at any price.

With an audacity that some termed foolhardy, the industry rallied and came up with a plan to beat the odds. Possessing a diverse range of attractions, world-class dive sites, such as Matangi Island, being but one, the Fiji Visitor's Bureau was convinced that it had a winning package, and would be pleased to see the political situation stabilize so that the FVB could back to doing what it does best.

I would not want to speculate as to the state of Fiji's economic climate should the efforts of the hotels, tour operators, the FVB, airlines, dive operations and others fail. To kick off their campaign, the Fiji travel people garnered excellent exposure on Australia's Channel 9 programme called Getaway which featured the Outrigger Reef Resort. Major resorts have been featured on another Channel 9 programme called Postcards. During December, Channel 7 featured the Shangri-La Fijian Resort and Treasure Island Resort on their Great Outdoor show as well as Naviti Plantation and Musket Cove.

One hundred and fifty-five travel agents from New Zealand and Australia finished a two week educational tour of the country from November 2-14 where they visited key tourism areas. The result was a solid endorsement for the country's tourism industry. As part of their trip, the travel agents met with 44 representatives from Fiji's six primary tourism regions who gave presentations at a day-long seminar at the Shangri-La Fijian Resort. As part of the Fiji Matai programme, 30 American travel agents were in Fiji from November 26 - December 6.

Started in 1998 for travel agents from North America, Fiji Matai is a specialist programme, a sort of black belt standard that all travel industry trade presentations should strive for. The certificate that is earned at the end indicates professional knowledge about the destination. In contrast most travel seminar programmes require only white belt standards. For example, Matai graduates have to know what Noel's Wall is and furthermore where it is even if they are not scuba divers who specialize in dive travel.

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