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MR TOM R RICKETTS MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, TOURISM, TRADE AND COMMUNICATIONS Speech by the Minister for Industry, Tourism, Trade and Communications for Jetset Travel World Conference at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island on THursday 14/08/08 AT 8:30PM. THE ORGANISERS OF THE JETSET TRAVEL WORLD CONFERENCE; DISTINGUISHED GUESTS; AND PARTICIPANTS. I AM DELIGHTED TO BE HERE THIS EVENING WITH YOU ALL. IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO WARMLY WELCOME YOU AND TO WISH ALL THE PARTICIPANTS A SUCCESSFUL AND MEMORABLE CONFERENCE. TWO WEEKS BACK, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF OPENING THE TRAVELSCENE AMERICAN EXPRESS CONFERENCE, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE LINKS WITH TRAVELSCENE AMERICAN EXPRESS. FIJI NEEDS CONFERENCES SUCH AS THIS TO HELP US STRENGTHEN OUR REPUTATION AS A POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION. WE ARE ESPECIALLY WELL KNOWN AS A FAMILY AND ROMANTIC TOURIST DESTINATION. LET ME STATE FROM THE OUTSET, THAT THE YEARS 2007-2008, ARE OUR RECOVERY YEARS AND GOVERNMENT IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND RELATED STAKEHOLDERS, TO ACHIEVE RECOVERY. WE NEED TO MAINTAIN OUR POPULARITY BUT WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS THROUGH FURTHER DIVERSIFYING OUR PRODUCTS. IN ADDITION WE NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE AND REFINE OUR PRODUCTS SO THAT WE NOT ONLY MAINTAIN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, BUT ALSO REFLECT THE SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FIJI. WE SEE THIS AS CRUCIAL TO OUR GOAL OF MAKING FIJI A PRIME DESTINATION BY THE YEAR 2016. THE FIJI GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES THAT TOURISM IS CRITICAL TO ITS ECONOMY. TO GIVE YOU A BIT OF BACKGROUND TOURISM FIRST EMERGED AS AN IMPORTANT PLAYER IN THE ECONOMY AFTER OUR INDEPENDENCE IN 1970. ITS STEADY GROWTH AND INCREASING CONTRIBUTION TO FIJI’S GDP, EMPLOYMENT AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS MAKE IT TODAY A MAIN STAY OF THE ECONOMY. THAT TOURISM RESULTED IN BETTER STANDARDS OF LIVING, PARTICULARLY FOR THE LOCAL PEOPLE IN ITS EMPLOYMENT CANNOT BE DENIED. HOWEVER, WHILE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES MORE VISITORS TO COME TO OUR SHORES, IT IS ALSO MINDFUL OF THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF MASS TOURISM CAN HAVE ON THE CULTURES OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT. SO WE ARE CAREFULLY DEVELOPING CULTURAL TOURISM AND ECO-TOURISM WHICH ARE BASED ON PRINCIPLES OF SOUND CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. A GREAT ADVANTAGE IS THAT CULTURAL TOURISM AND ECO-TOURISM ALSO RESULT IN THE DIRECT INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES WHO BECOME RECIPIENTS OF TOURISM BENEFITS THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE NOT BE AVAILABLE TO THEM. INFACT FIJI, AS THE MOST DEVELOPED SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND STATE, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS WELL ABLE TO BECOMING A PROTOTYPE OF AN INTERNATIONAL ECO-TOURISM DESTINATION OF THE FUTURE, GIVEN THE UNIQUENESS AND DIVERSITY OF ITS HERITAGE ASSETS. IN ITS EFFORTS TO ENSURE A FAIRER AND WIDER DISTRIBUTION OF TOURISM BENEFITS, GOVERNMENT INVOLVES THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THE RESOURCE OWNERS AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN ITS NATIONAL PLANNING PROCESS. THIS WE BELIEVE IS THE WAY TO GO. HISTORICALLY, BACK IN THE DAYS OF THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION TOURISM WAS LEFT SOLELY TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AS THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATORS AT THAT TIME DID NOT SEE IT AS VIABLE AND PROFITABLE. SO TOURISM HAS LARGELY BEEN A PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVE WITH GOVERNMENT INCREASING ITS PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT FROM THE 1970’S ONWARDS. AND IN RECENT TIMES, WITH THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY AND THE RAPID GROWTH OF WORLD TOURISM, THE FIJI GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGES THE URGENT NEED FOR FIJI TO ENHANCE ITS COMPETITIVENESS, AND THEREBY AVOID THE GRAVE RISK OF BEING PUSHED ASIDE BY OTHER MORE FIERCELY COMPETITIVE ISLAND PLAYERS SUCH AS BALI, THE CARIBBEAN AND THE MALDIVES. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT OUR TOURISM FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS STILL SURPASSES WORLD TOURISM GROWTH RATE WHICH IS AT 4.4%, WE ARE WELL AWARE THAT OUR TRADITIONAL SUN, SEA, SAND AND THE FRIENDLINESS OF OUR PEOPLE IS NO LONGER ADEQUATE FOR THE MILLENNIUM. THERE ARE MANY OTHER TOURIST ISLAND DESTINATIONS THAT BOAST OF THESE AS WELL. WE REALIZE WE HAVE TO CULTIVATE OTHER PRODUCTS AND SO THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM HAS IN PLACE A TOURISM DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN IN WHICH A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS IS THE IDENTIFICATION OF NEW EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS THAT ARE AUTHENTICALLY AND UNIQUELY FIJI. ALREADY OUR SELF EXAMINATION COUPLED WITH EXPERT ADVICE FROM TOURIST SPECIALISTS HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT OUR CULTURAL ASSETS, UNDER PROPER MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC MARKETING, CARRY GREAT POTENTIAL AS A DRAW CARD FOR TOURISTS. WE FIND OURSELVES TODAY FACING EXCITING AND CHALLENGING TIMES, WITH THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE FOR OUR VISITORS EXPERIENCES THAT WILL BE SO SPECIAL MEMORABLE; WE SINCERELY HOPE, THEY WILL NEVER FIND THEM ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD AND SO THEY WILL WANT TO RETURN TO FIJI. THIS IS WHY I AM PLEASED TO BE HERE WITH YOU THIS EVENING. I BELIEVE YOUR PRESENCE AND THE OUTCOME OF YOUR CONFERENCE WILL PROVIDE US VALUABLE INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE THAT WILL HELP US IN OUR OWN SEARCH FOR THE KIND OF EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS THAT WILL ATTRACT MORE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO OUR SHORES. INCREASE IN TOURISTS WILL RESULT IN BETTER AND MORE TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY OF SERVICE. HIGHER STANDARD OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WILL ADD TO THE INCREASE AND SO THE CYCLE CONTINUES AND IF EFFECTIVELY MAINTAINED CAN BECOME SUSTAINABLE. THERE IS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND THE GROWTH OF VISITOR ARRIVALS. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED TO THE LONG TERM SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF TOURISM, AND IS CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON BALANCING HOW THE NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES CAN BE MET WHILE AT THE SAMETIME EFFECTIVELY RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL VISITORS. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT FIJI’S TOURISM BEGAN WAY BACK IN THE 1890S WHEN FIJI BECAME KNOWN AS THE CROSSROADS OF THE PACIFIC FOR STEAMSHIP LINES. THE STEAMSHIPS WOULD COME TO SUVA AS THE PORT OF CALL AND A COLONIAL ADMINISTRATOR AT THE TIME, REALIZING THE POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM IN THIS TRANSPORTATION ACTIVITY PUBLISHED IN 1893, THE FIRST TRAVEL GUIDE TO FIJI. IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS NEW MILLENNIUM, I BELIEVE, THAT THE JETSET TRAVEL WORLD GROUP CAN SIMILARLY, BUT WITH FAR MORE GREATER IMPACT, STIMULATE AND ADVANCE TOURISM GROWTH, HERE IN FIJI. I SAY THIS WITH GREAT CONFIDENCE BECAUSE THE JETSET TRAVEL WORLD GROUP IS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST INTEGRATED TRAVEL BUSINESSES, INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOR ITS OFFERS OF TRAVEL PRODUCTS AND TOURIST SERVICES TO VARIOUS PLACES AROUND THE WORLD. I AM WELL AWARE THAT GIVEN YOUR GLOBAL REPUTATION MANY TOURIST DESTINATIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY EAGER TO HAVE YOU HOLD YOUR CONFERENCE IN THEIR PART OF THE WORLD. YOU HAVE CHOSEN FIJI, KNOWING FULL WELL OUR POLITICAL REALITY AND THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S TRAVEL BAN ON US. THIS SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THE PROFESSIONAL VALUES, INTELLIGENCE AND BUSINESS SKILLS WITH WHICH YOU HAVE ASSESSED THAT FIJI REMAINS A SAFE DESTINATION, AND WELL EQUIPPED TO HOLD THIS CONFERENCE. AND MIGHT I ADD THAT IT ALSO SPEAKS VOLUMES OF YOUR GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS AND CONCERN TOWARDS US, PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA AND FIJI HAVE A VERY LONG FRIENDSHIP AND ARE TRADITIONAL PARTNERS IN A WIDE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES, TOURISM BEING A SIGNIFICANT ONE OF THEM. YOUR CONFERENCE IS A DECLARATION OF CONFIDENCE AND OPTIMISM IN FIJI AS A WORTHY TOURIST DESTINATION WHICH HOLDS GREAT PROMISE, EVEN IN TOUGH AND DIFFICULT TIMES. IT IS ALSO A DECLARATION OF THE STRONG BOND OF FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA AND FIJI. AND SO IT IS WITH PROFOUND GRATITUDE THAT I DECLARE “OPEN” THE JETSET TRAVEL WORLD CONFERENCE. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL. -End- |
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