TOURISM IN FIJI: How its making the rich even richer, and the poor even poorer.

S. Apo Aporosa
published in the Fiji Observer (Auckland, NZ), Sept. 2007.

If you read my article in last months issue of the Fiji Observer (Yaqona (kava) and the multinational pharmaceutical industry), in which I highlighted the income inequity that exists between Fijian yaqona farmers and Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies, you will understand that social justice issues and equity are of a deep concern to me. This month I will discuss the Fijian tourism industry, another area in which I believe Fiji is being treated unjustly and unethically by foreign systems. The Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics reports that tourism in Fiji earned 741 million dollars last year 1. This is an exceptional amount of money when you compare this against the sugar industry which received 207 million dollars over the same period 2. However, unlike the sugar industry, a large proportion of the money earned by the tourism industry leaves the country, and fails to reach the local economy. This is because most of Fijis tourism industry is based upon a capital intensive, foreign owned, mass resort model. If you were to investigate who actually owns the majority of the tourist resorts and hotels in Fiji, you would find that they are mostly foreign owned. For example, the Shangri-La Fijian Resort on Yanuce Island near Sigatoka is one of 52 hotels and resorts worldwide, owned by an Asian syndicate who are registered on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange 3. Last week the Pacific Islands Report announced that two new major hotel projects are about to commence in Fiji. These will be called the Bula Vinaka Fiji Hotel and SSS International Limited, funded and owned by Chinese nationals 4. These examples are not a slight on the Asian community, as examples can also be cited of American and European resort and hotel ownership. The point I am trying to make here is that much of the income generated by the tourism industry in Fiji leaves the country, draining the economy of much needed development wealth. Additionally, resorts rely heavily upon imported goods to satisfy the wants of international tourists. This again causes large amounts of money to be moved offshore and reduces the amount of money that enters the local economy 5. I agree that the tourism industry provides a great deal of employment for the local kai Viti (Fijian) populace, and without this employment, many families would be unable to purchase staple food and healthcare items such as flour, sugar, soap, toothpaste etc. However, I would argue that the mass tourism industry takes advantage of the local, as the majority of the jobs that hotels and resorts provide, tend to be subservient and menial, with long hours, and pay very little in comparison to what expatriate resort workers receive. These foreign staff members frequently hold managerial positions, are often very highly paid, receive performance bonuses, company cars, and

accommodation subsidies. At the local level, mass tourism has also been accused of being responsible for environmental degradation, prostitution, the debasement of the culture through cultural commercialisation, the introduction of drugs and alcohol, and the breakdown of family values associated with materialism and individualism. At this stage you may be thinking that I am totally against tourism in Fiji. No, this is certainly not the case. What I disagree with is the use of our iconic country and our fellow countrymen by foreign investors, purely for their own gain. These tourism pirates take what they can (financially), and then send it back to their already affluent societies. Last month in my yaqona article I used a quote by Charles Lummis from his 1997 article entitled Equity. I feel that this quote also applies to the mass tourism industry in Fiji. Lummis stated, a big part of the 'economic development', i.e., the wealth, of the rich countries is wealth imported from poor countries". Or another way of saying this is, Fiji, through its mass tourism industry, is providing some of the wealth to grow and pamper First World societies who already have more than Fiji will ever have. Is this equitable or just? I would argue no, its exploitative and unethical. But do not despair, there is no need to drown your sorrows in the tanoa (kava bowl) just yet, because I believe there are solutions, one of which I will present here, called Justice Tourism. Justice tourism is an alternative form of tourism which evolved out of eco-tourism 6. It involves a new type of tourist who pays their own way, spending their money not on a self-indulgent holiday, but in serving the needs of the Third World 7. Justice tourism, the antithesis of mass tourism 8, promotes equitable mutual relationships between the tourist and host within the authentic environs of the community, and focuses on assisting the host in self-supporting and sustainable practices 9. The principals of Justice tourism have been adopted by our small development NGO, i.d., (International Development). Since April 2000, we have made 20 visits, and taken over 50 Justice tourists to Richmond Methodist High School (RMHS) on Kadavu Island, Fiji. These tourists have included a doctor, a nurse, an electrician, builders, school teachers, community workers, farmers and unemployed youth. While at the school, our tourists are accommodated with local families, as this allows the tourist an authentic experience. Village level economic development is stimulated through the payment of a generous soli (donation) by all tourists to the school, and also to the host family. Additionally, on subsequent visits, our tourists are hosted with new families, on a rotational basis, to ensure the fair distribution of benefits to the wider community, preventing competition or a sole beneficiary, thus complementing sustainability. During our stay, tourists become household and community members, and this full immersion experience ensures minimal interference with daily life, and cultural ceremonies and occasions, as the tourists assist at, and attend these events without the 2

need to be entertained. Additionally, tourists are advised as to what is available for sale at and around the school community, and all products are purchased locally. This includes pre-paying a local farmer who meets the group upon their arrival with yaqona for the sevusevu. It would be far more convenient to purchase yaqona at the market on Viti Levu, but this would not support the local community and the ethos of Justice tourism. Interest in our style of tourism has been high, and it is believed that this has coincided with a worldwide interest in Adventure tourism which sees travellers seeking out new and challenging environments in which to spend their holiday money. However, i.d. maintains a strict tourist selection process. Firstly, tourist numbers are set following consultation with the school to prevent our stay being a burden to the host. This consultation also includes the identification of a target project at the community so as i.d. can select appropriately skilled tourists for the trip. Secondly, although a tourist may possess the necessary skills to assist a development project, they must first demonstrate a commitment to the ethos of Justice tourism by acknowledging that they will not only pay the necessary expenses to travel to, and stay in the community, but also work while they are there. Further, tourists must display a desire to learn both in New Zealand (NZ) and from the host community, have a strong sense of social justice, be motivated to make a difference in the developing world, be a team player and a hard worker, be prepared to rough it (in comparison to the ease of First World living in NZ), and be looking for adventure off the beaten track. Additionally, all tourists must personally pay for, and attend a training/selection weekend, which is held at a Marae, a Maori village. Tourists are introduced to the basics of vakaturaga (Fijian ethos) and itovo (culture), and given examples and warned that if they feel they cannot sleep on an ibe on the floor, eat only local food, work in the heat, and participate fully in the host family and community structure, this type of holiday will not suit them. It is during this weekend that those we feel could disrupt the systems and structures of the host family, school community, village or project are weededout. It is our motto that we would rather take no one than take a problem. The strict selection process and the personal cost to the tourists have not dissuaded people. One example concerns a doctor who has now visited RMHS twice. As the owner of her own medical clinic in NZ, her travel to Fiji first required her to hire, at great personal cost, a locum Doctor to cover her while she was away. This doctor then spent hundreds of dollars of her own money and purchased medical equipment and supplies for the school dispensary, and while at the school, ran daily medical clinics and trained the school matron in basic healthcare. I was talking to this doctor a few days ago, and she is currently planning another trip to the school. Another example involves two 65 year old grandmothers from NZ who visited RMHS with i.d. in 2002. One of the grandmothers, prior to leaving for the school, paid for swimming lessons and learnt how to swim for the first time in her life. These are only two of many stories concerning the generosity, challenge and desire that Justice tourists have embraced in order to make a difference in a developing community. 3

However, not all people agree with this type of tourism. Academics Mowforth and Munt (2003) for instance, argue that Justice tourism creates Transculturation, a kind of institutional racism that celebrates primitiveness, and that poverty in the Third World has become a commodity to experience, just as a tourist would seek cultural experiences as part of a package tour. Hutnyk (1996) 10 believes Justice tourism entrench(s) inequitable relationships which sees the West as having the answers to development problems in the Third World. Others have stated that the large amount of money spent on airfares by Justice tourists could be put to greater use if given directly to a community. I feel that this type of criticism fails to consider wider issues. Justice tourism allows for genuine relationship building, enabling the tourist to learn about why people are poor while communicating compassion and care to the host. It also offers communities skilled labour at no cost to them, and ensures money and gifts are targeted at the grass-roots village level, instead of the supermarket, national franchise, hotel chain, or internationally owned resort conglomerate. For the host, it enables them to interact with an aspect of the wider world; a structure, that due to the financial position of most villagers, they will often never be able to afford to visit. Additionally, the host is able to authentically present their culture with dignity and pride, exhibiting a way of life that most tourists only glimpse at while travelling in an air conditioned bus, or one which is presented to them in plastic version at a resort. Admittedly, the Justice tourism type of holiday will not suit all people, but there are other options available instead of the mass resort, foreign owned option. In Fiji, locals are beginning to take up the challenge and finance and build their own small resorts and holiday venues, based upon sound eco-tourism principals that consider environmental impacts, the Vanua, and local needs. I was able to find over 20 such places spread all over Fiji during a simple internet search. So heres my challenge to you. Next time you hear a kai Valagi (Westerner/European) talking about visiting our wonder homeland, how about getting bold and telling them about the amazing sights and experiences available to them off the beaten track. Why not suggest that they stay at a locally owned and operated ecotourism resort, one where their hard earned holiday money will also go toward assisting local families, maybe the building of a village water supply, helping toward the paying of school fees, or the development of a local medical clinic. Tell them about the big foreign owned mass resorts that send the majority of their earnings overseas, importing a large proportion of their goods, which fail to assist the local economy, and pay their local workers a pittance compared to their expatriate workers. And if you really feel like you want to stand up and shout Go Fiji, Go!!, explain to them why many of the practices employed in the mass resort model are unjust and inequitable. If they look really interested, why not go the full distance and suggest Justice tourism to them? There are now a large number of NGOs that offer this type of holiday experience. And if they look at you like you are some sort of idiot, maybe 4

they would be more suited to a holiday in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Australia? And finally, if you want to learn more about Justice tourism, Eco-tourism, and the benefits that tourism can have on the local economy, my university supervisor, Dr. Regina Scheyvens, has written a very good book entitled Tourism for development: empowering communities that will get you started.

The author, S Apo Aporosa, is a PhD Development Studies student at Massey University, and his maternal grandmother is from Macuata, Fiji.

Statistics, F. I. B. o. (2007). Fiji Facts and figures as at 1st July 2005. Suva: Government of the Fiji Islands. Page 5 2 Unknown. ( 2007). Sugar exports exceed $60m. Fiji Times Online, Wednesday, September 26,. 3 http://www.ir.shangri-la.com/ 4 Pacific Islands Report (2007). Chinese investors to build two hotels in Fiji, Sept. 25. 5 Scheyvens, R. A., & Purdie, N. (1999). Ecotourism. In R. A. Scheyvens & J. D. Overton (Eds.), Strategies for sustainable development (pp. 212-225). Australia: University of New South Wales Press. p213 6 Lascurain, 1996, cited in Scheyvens & Purdie, 1999:213 7 Wearing, 2001:1; Scheyvens, 2002:102; Mowforth & Munt, 2003:25 8 Holden, 1984, cited in Scheyvens, 2002:102; Mowforth & Munt, 1998:238; Cater, 1993:85; Lea, 1993:710; Scheyvens & Purdie, 1999:213 9 Cater, 1993:89; Wearing, 2001:7; Scheyvens, 2002:104 10 Hutnyk, 1996, cited in Scheyvens, 2002.