The tourism industry looks forward to long term benefits aimed at showcasing Fiji as a ‘low carbon’ tourism destination, says Tourism Fiji chairman Patrick Wong.
In responding to an expression of interest by the Department of Energy in the Fiji Sun (21/04) newspaper yesterday, Mr Wong says a low carbon tourism destination is aimed at attracting tourism numbers, growing eco-tourists and investment for long-term development and benefits towards Fiji's tourism industry.
“It will create new direct and indirect business opportunities retaining employment and enhancing sustainable tourism.”
As Fiji relies heavily on imported fossil fuel for energy with a record fuel bill of $1.2 billion, hotel and resort owners are now being encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to implement energy-efficiency and renewable energy for long-term benefits.
Attractive funding packages and tax incentives are available for energy efficient investments from global resources and Government.
Reiterating the emerging trend in which many visitors are looking and giving weight to pristine environment and environment ratings of the destination before deciding where to holiday, Mr Wong says major markets are environmentally conscious and would be guided on travel patterns to reduce impact on climate change.
While eco-tourism is a fast growing niche market, being non-sustainable is not the answer in developing long-term benefits aimed at spreading the tourism dollar to remote parts of Fiji and encouraging resource owner participation.
Simultaneously, greater consumer awareness about sustainability and climate change will more likely result in a non-sustainable destination incurring a loss of market share.
Mr Wong added that low carbon tourism requires coordination and a collective approach between the private sector, stakeholders, and Government to address climate change.