Tourism Contribution to Communities in Fiji Alifereti Tawake, JCU PhD student 24 th October, 2009

Outline 1.Fiji 2.Tourism contribution 3.Tourism ‘leakage’ 4.Community benefits 5.Examples of community projects – retaining benefits in communities – Reducing leakage 6.Needs

1.Fiji Traditional ways of life and community structures Land ownership (86% traditional) Life dependent on the sea and land Cash dependence increasing

1.Fiji Average Foreign Exchange Earnings ( ) Source: Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, reproduced from Reserve Bank of Fiji report, 2009 $M

2. Tourism Contribution 24% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Largest gross foreign exchange earner, $892m Retention rate around, 44% Benefiting communities (est. <5%, Korovulavula et al., 2006) Source: Reserve Bank of Fiji, 2009

3.Tourism ‘Leakage’ Strategic Assessment of Fiji’s Tourism Development Plan Report (Levett and McNally, 2003) ‘Leakage’ of economic benefits (64%) – Import of goods, food, drink and services – Travel and packaged deals – Overseas investors repatriate profits ‘export leakages’ Community oriented activities Ecotourism as a strategy – Community-based ‘eco-tourism’ run or jointly owned by communities, home stays

4.Community benefits (<5%) Erosion of benefits – Employment – Land lease Unequal distribution – Chiefly system – Land owners

5. Example: Village Tours Profits equally distributed

5. Example: Village-based activities

5. Example: Tourism Interpretation Historical sites Village history Plant & animal totems Medicinal plants Traditional dances Traditional ‘feast’

5. Example: Plantation Walk

5. Example: Community-Protected Areas Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) Community Managed Forest Parks

5. Example: Sponsoring Reef Restoration

5. Example: Involving women Printing conservation messages on sulus

5. Example: Involving Youths Adopt-a-tree of reforestation

5. Needs 1.Investment into local projects 2.Research into their performance 3.Enabling policies