Mrs Elizabeth Powell
Permanent Secretary for Public Enterprises and Tourism

Saturday 19th July 2014
Nataly Grounds, AFL Compound, Namaka
11AM

FIJIAN HOSTS GAMES 2014

Thank you for an amazing start to the day!!. The wheelbarrow float parade was great fun, and well done to all the teams.

When I started FIJIAN HOSTS almost 23 months ago with the generous help of Starwood Resorts, SAMBA creative agency, George Rubine Public Relations, the FIJIAN HOSTS Champions and your Ministry of Tourism team, we had two goals.

One goal was to help each of you understand how much tourism and your country relies on you, that what you do every day that you put on your uniform and go to work, is so important to Fiji.

Your faces are the first ones that our visitors see when they arrive and you are among the last Fijians they see when they leave our beautiful country.

You -- as a group, as FIJIAN HOSTS, owns our Vulagi's first and last impressions of Fiji.

When we understand that 1 in every 3 of the jobs of each of our friends and families, of all Fijian jobs, is connected to tourism, we realize how important it is that we work together to keep our visitors wanting to come back to Fiji as many times as they can.

All of you have learnt this in your FIJIAN HOSTS training. It is amazing that we have trained approximately 400, yes 400, FIJIAN HOSTS in less than 2 years.

From this training each FIJIAN HOST shares customer service techniques and a common service language -- that was our 2nd goal, to give you customer service tools.

And, as a result, our comments about the quality of service you provide that we've received from travelling Fijians, international visitors and our tourism industry -- have been gratifying.

You should be proud of yourselves, and each other! I know I am.
At the AON Excellence in Tourism Awards in 2012, our visionary Prime Minister, the Honorable Voreqe Josaia Bainimarama, was the first to strongly encourage the tourism industry to acknowledge the efforts of our frontline tourism teams.

From the beginning his values about the Fijian women and men who work in the frontline of our industry, have powered the FIJIAN HOSTS initiative.

As most of you I'm sure have heard, I submitted my resignation on 12 June and have appreciated multiple opportunities to reconsider this decision but have felt that I must honor my original reasons.

I feel truly privileged to have contributed to the very many reforms and developments that have been driven by our Prime Minister - the achievement of record international visitor numbers, the rebranding of Tourism Fiji and Fiji Airways, the preparation of a cutting-edge Fijian Tourism Development Plan for 2015-2020 and the many improvements achieved with the 25 state-owned companies that are part of the public enterprises portfolio.

I have extended my notice twice and next Friday is my last day in office.

I am very happy that these extensions of my notice period have allowed me to participate with you in this last FH event for me as Permanent Secretary for Public Enterprises and Tourism.

This first FIJIAN HOSTS Games that we've coordinated and we hope to run the week-long Games every year after this one.
The theme, FIJIAN HOSTS, WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE is at the heart of the FH program.

The theme came from your FH Champions who are led so well by the one and only Joe Grey from Airports Fiji Limited.

A big vinaka vakalevu to Joe, the other 7 Champions and to the members of the organizing committee.

They have been reporting daily how well the quizzes and games have gone each day, and what fun you have all been having.
I am looking forward to the finals and know that each of you will do your best to have the best time ever!

Now, please allow me to invite the AG and Minister for Tourism to address us.

-ENDS-