Sustainable Cultural Tourism Practices in the Fiji Highlands: Practices, Impacts and Recommendations

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This paper compares the practices and impacts of two cultural tourism companies - one from Australia and one from USA - operating in the Fiji highlands. The manager and leader of the Australian company previously worked for the USA company that marketed their experiences to high paying USA customers. The fledgling Australian company markets exclusively to school and university groups who seek a meaningful and cultural immersion experience. The USA company visitors stay within the Fijian village, either in a purpose-built building or as a billet with a Fijian family. The clients of the Australian company however, stay several kilometers away from the village in a purpose-built village resort that employs the villagers. The paper compares the differing practices of the two sustainable tourism companies and the social, cultural, and economic impacts of those practices on the Fijian villagers who host the Australian and USA travelers. A set of recommendations based on the study are presented for other companies and their clients who engage with, or intend to visit similar developing Pacific Island destinations. The recommendations are designed to empower the villagers, to minimize the impact of the visitors on the culture of the Fijians, and to maximize the impact of the experience on the visitors.

Stream: Cultural Sustainability

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Gayle Mayes is currently a lecturer in Tourism and Sport and Event Marketing at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her background includes working in an international company; owning and managing her own business; teaching, and leading groups in outdoor pursuits and outdoor education/recreation for 10 years in tertiary institutions; and more recently: leading research and education expeditions for tertiary students to remote Pacific Island destinations. Her research interests range from sustainable wildlife tourism to sustainable coastal and marine tourism; extreme/adventure recreation and elite level paddle sports.