Q1. Honourable
Minister Nacuva, you have been recently appointed
Minister for the most important sector for
the Fijian economy: Tourism. What does this
professional challenge mean for you and what
does this new Ministry created recently mean
for the country?
A1. Personally it is a wonderful opportunity
to further progress in my career. My views
are very close with those of the government
in terms of attracting investments and also
in terms of making out of Fiji the true relaxing
tropical destination that we are trying to
promote around the world. I am excited about
this challenge as it gives me an opportunity
to evolve professionally. Back in 1973 I prepared
the first Tourism Development Program for
Fiji, it was the first major program put together
to the World to promote Fiji in a well-designed
way. I just joined the government back in
those days as a Town Planner and I went to
Hawaii because that place was progressing
quite well in terms of tourism and I wanted
to see all they were doing. Later on we put
together the 1973 Tourism Development Program
that, back in that time already observed the
possibility of developing the Natadola area,
the most beautiful beach in the South Pacific
coasts. As I was in charge of Planning, all
the development projects in Fiji had to go
trough my office and I was in charge of giving
the final approvals so I was able to implement
the policies of the Program in order to have
a well structured, sustainable, friendly with
the environment and attractive Tourism industry
in Fiji. Most of the things you can see in
Fiji now were organized and done under this
program and under my supervision so I had
an important role in the implementation of
all those projects. This is why I was so pleased
when I became Minister for Tourism and this
is why I was so excited to be back here so
that I could continue with the program. On
the other hand, the Ministry for Tourism became
an independent portfolio and an organism specifically
dedicated to Tourism. Tourism is not just
an enjoyment that we offer, it is also a way
of life for many Fijians. Being such an important
aspect of the economy the creation of a specific
Ministry for Tourism was a top priority for
the new administration. Sugar has always been
considered the number one industry in Fiji
and everything was being done around this
industry. The implying effects that these
policies designed by the government were having
on the cane farmers, on the millers and on
the landowners were benefiting all of them.
We learnt from Hawaii and other similar economies
that we had to diversify our economy and that
we cannot keep relying on the sugar Industry.
We wanted all the people involved in the Tourism
sector to have all the possible benefits as
well so this is why Ministry For Tourism was
recently created.
Q2. Talking about diversification. The
Tourism sector is also diversifying the
offer for visitors. What can you tell us
about the Eco-Tourism and other alternatives
that are being developed?
A2. If we follow this issue in a logical
sequence we have to think first about the
Hotel Industry. When we prepared the Program
back in 1973 we considered that a good and
right development of the Hotel Industry was
one of the first priorities for us. At that
time we watched very carefully where we located
the hotels so that it did not affect the environment
and the people. We are very cautious about
where we site the hotels in order to respect
the cultural and heritage aspects that the
people living there deserve. In that first
development phase, this was cleverly done
and now we have to be very sensitive about
this. We are still evolving in Tourism and
we never know how will Tourism affect our
lifestyle and the way we look at things. We
are encouraging this year the kind of Tourism
that you can see in the Yasawa Island, the
Mamanuca Group or the Kadavu Group, it is
what we call the Primary Tourism. Then we
have what we call the Secondary Tourism, made
up of the activities surrounding these hotels,
all the water sports operators and other businesses
that might be closer to the villages. Fiji
is right now going through a very exciting
state in terms of tourism. Whatever we do
now, what ever is developed now and however
it is done will affect in one way or another
not only our environment but also our people
and the culture of the Fiji Islands. The multiplying
effect of tourism is not only the responsibility
of the hotels owners but also the responsibility
of those people that are developing the Eco-Tourism
in Fiji.
Q3. Could you explain to our readers
what is the "Bula Pride Program",
what are the main objectives and future
projects under this Strategic Development
Plan?
A3. The Bula Pride Program was initiated
when I came back and when this Ministry was
being conceived. Bula Pride is a program to
educate and to train the people of Fiji with
the intention enabling them to be more customer
focused. We are training them in the way they
have to act, in the words they can use or
they must not use, in the expression. The
expression goes along with the way we behave
and this is one of the things we use when
we promote Fiji as a tourist destination,
"The friendliest people in the world".
Generally speaking, the way you behave and
the way you respond will affect the visitor
and I am not talking only about the workforce
in the Tourism industry. We are also trying
to change the way the governmental personnel
serve customers. The Bula Pride Program has
become a very useful tool in terms of training
not only to duty free shop dealers for instance
but as well for people who are selling handicrafts
in the way they create an affection with the
customer. This Program is affecting the whole
system. The government and the private sector
is more customer focused, more customer friendly
and this is the essence of the Bula Pride.
Bula! is used to greet, to welcome someone
in Fijian language. We are proud of the way
we greet and that is why we always greet visitors
with a smile.
Q4. The incentives to increase FDI in
the Tourism sector are there. Out of all,
what are the incentives you would like to
highlight?
A4. There is a package of incentives.
I would say that the most attractive one is
the Tax-holiday. Investors that come into
Fiji from overseas have several years of tax-holidays.
They know that we rely on them and they know
that the Government is not going to build
a hotel. The government has to address the
public and social issues of the country, the
government is not a private company and it
is in charge of the development of the country.
In the tourism development we have to rely
a lot on the Private Sector. That is why we
offer Tax-holidays and also some duties exemptions
when they bring in the necessary equipments
from abroad in order to build the hotel. These
are the major incentives we give to investors.
Besides this direct incentives we are also
developing infrastructures and we are doing
it where the industry would like to establish
a hotel. The assistance of the state of Fiji
in this aspect regards to the providing of
roads, water, sewages, etc. |
Q5. What is
your opinion about the role that International
Financial institutions are playing in this
development of the infrastructure?
A5. I have a very good opinion towards
them. I feel very grateful with the European
Union, the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank. They have facilitated all these program
in terms of infrastructure development for
many years. They have supported not only the
development of our infrastructure but also
some community programs and they have as well
helped us to figure out ways to increase investments
in the sector. The assistance and confidence
that these institutions have been having with
Fiji is a good example that has encouraged
tourism development. For instance in the Coral
Coast, where the World Bank was able to construct
the road from the Nadi International Airport
to the Coral Coast. Another example would
be the upgrading of the road from Pacific
Harbour to Suva. All this was done deliberately
with the World Bank, the construction and
upgrading of roads, to make the stay more
comfortable for visitors.
Q6. What is the exact role of the Fiji
Visitors Bureau and what are the main challenges
they have to face at the moment?
A6. The main role of the FVB is to promote
Fiji as a tourist destination and as a tourism
investment destination. Its basic role is
to market Fiji abroad. The FVB was not able
to promote Fiji as we would have wished to
in order to compete with other destinations
that were promoting themselves quite well
back in the 1960's like Bali. It is because
of the good work those countries did in that
time that the number of visitors increased
through the years. We need to do more concerning
this aspect and I am glad that through the
years we have been increasing the marketing
budget of the FVB. When I came back from the
United States in 1997 and began to work in
the Tourism area again the funds given to
the FVB for marketing every year were around
4 million Fijian dollars. If you compare that
figure with other destinations of the world
you find out that this is peanuts. We have
been increasing the figure from those F$4
million to F$11 million in 1998. It is a challenge
for me to increase this figure again in the
National Budget for 2003 that will be presented
next Friday November 8th because it is very
clear that we have to market more.
Q7. The Natadola Bay Project is an example
of how this government is helping to develop
the industry. Could you tell us a little
bit more about this project and what is
being made by the public administration
to speed up this initiative?
A7. Let me go back in history once again.
In 1973, we were focused on Natadola Bay as
a premier destination to kick off tourism
in a big way. When we were planning all this,
Indonesia was also setting up Bali as a premier
destination. With the Natadola Project we
were targeting 30,000 visitors every year
and that would need around eight major hotels.
Difficulties arose in the 1973-74 small Fijian
economy. Indonesia continued with the Bali
project in a fascinating way while we did
not progress in the Natadola Project. It is
wonderful for me to be back here because I
am going to push all these things again but
I feel sorry for the opportunity that we missed
in the past. But we are back in business now
and we have spent already this year some F$10
million to build the new road from Queens
Highway to Natadola because, as I said earlier,
this is where the government must come in,
in laying down the infrastructure. There is
already some investors in this Project, Shangri-La
is one of them. They were waiting for this
opportunity to happen. Natadola is a dream
destination for me, the landscape and the
sceneries that you can see from the hills
of Natadola, with the sea and the beach in
front of you are incredibly fantastic. Natadola
Beach is entitled as the best beach in the
South Pacific. That is why the government
has been trying to achieve this project since
the 1960's.
Q8. As you mentioned before, the Tourism
Industry affects the life of the people
in Fiji. What is your strategy to improve
the quality of life of the Fijians and how
can foreign investors help in this process?
A8. This government should be looking
at tourism as a developer of the life standard
in our country. The sugar industry has developed
this country and it should happen the same
thing with Tourism. I am not saying we should
not take care of other Industries, we have
a huge potential in other industries like
technology, fishing or timber for instance
but tourism must not only be positive for
investors but as well it has to benefit the
local people. Everybody in the country must
share the earnings of the Tourism industry.
We have a strong culture and strong traditions
that must be kept and this is also good for
Tourism. Culturally, locals and tourists learn
form each other and this is enriching in both
ways. Environmentally, there are regions in
the country that should be preserved like
our ocean, our sand dunes, etc. This is why
some investors have decided to invest in Eco-Tourism
in Fiji. The most important thing an investor
should know before coming into Fiji is obvious,
they have maximize their investments so they
should develop their sector in a sustainable
way. We would like to do this in partnership
with them. They take care of some issues and
we take care of other issues. Eco-Tourism
is the future and we need to be very sensitive
with the environment. Someone coming from
abroad to this small land must focus on the
protection of the environment.
Q9. If Eco-Tourism is the future and
the environment is the key aspect for Eco-tourism,
How do you think this philosophy is affecting
the future package that Fiji will be able
to offer to visitors?
A9. It will affect in the quality of the
offer. Tourism relies a lot on the environment.
The sun, the sea, the people, etc. Hotels
must not discharge waste into the sea as this
affects the marine life and the coral reef.
Talking about quality, the quality of the
service that we offer is another thing that
is making the tourists come into Fiji. What
is going to make someone come all the way
down to Fiji is the quality of their stay.
Quality in all aspects, quality in the designs
of the hotels, quality of the environment,
quality of the service with the Bula Pride
Program. When I was launching the Eco-challenge
there were some people filming the amazing
ocean and the clear waters of the coast of
Fiji and suddenly a few big sharks came out
of the water, they are very friendly because
our waters are free of any pollution and following
this all of the sudden we all saw something
coming out of the water again, a few big turtles
coming up, it was just astonishing to see
that.
Q10. The Tourism Summit that took place
in Savusavu on November last year was the
major event in this sector, What do you
expect from this meeting?
A10. This was the climax of this year
program. It was fun to get together all the
officials and the stakeholders of the Tourism
Industry. This was the time to announce how
will the government distribute the economic
growth of this sector through out the country.
This was a perfect moment to explain how this
government uses tourism as a tool to distribute
wealth among our people. We also encouraged
the potential for Tourism investments.
Winne cannot be held responsible for unedited
transcription. |
V.I.P. INTERVIEWS
