Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Viliame Gavoka, along with the Fijian Ambassador to Japan, Filimone Waqabaca, are representing Fiji at the Tourism Resilience Summit in Sendai.
Hosted jointly by the Government of Japan and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Summit has brought together tourism leaders from across the Asia-Pacific to address post-pandemic recovery, sustainability, and resilience in the face of global disruptions.
In his remarks at the Summit, Hon. Gavoka highlighted Fiji’s commitment to building a resilient tourism sector amid its vulnerabilities to natural disasters.
“We have used these crises as an opportunity to rebuild stronger,” he noted, reflecting on the resilience of tourism through historical challenges like SARS, the Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hon. Gavoka’s address underscored Fiji’s vision of rebuilding its tourism sector with an emphasis on sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience.
He outlined efforts to diversify tourism offerings and enhance disaster resilience, recognizing tourism’s crucial role in Fiji’s economy.
The minister described Fiji’s approach as a concerted push towards creating a “stronger and diverse economic base” through sustainable public-private partnerships and forward-looking policies.
The Summit included a Ministerial Meeting, officially opened by Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Saito Tetsuo, with contributions from the Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner, UNWTO Executive Director, and Sendai’s Mayor.
The meeting highlighted the need for proactive disaster preparedness, resilience-building, and adaptive recovery to address future crises.
Leaders agreed on the importance of collaborative strategies to absorb and recover from the impacts of natural hazards while fostering innovation and transformation within the tourism industry.
As Gavoka noted, “We’re using this recovery to build resilience. This also means creating policies and programs that not only guide us today but will serve us in the years to come.”
With tourism as one of Fiji’s economic cornerstones, the sector’s future rests on adaptive strategies that promote both growth and sustainability.