ROBUST sponsorships and a rigorous judging process are set to elevate the 2025 ANZ Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards (FETA) to international standards.
As the industry prepares for the event, set to take place on February 28, the focus remains on maintaining transparency while measuring local success against global benchmarks.
ANZ continues its role as the main rights sponsor, providing the stability needed for the Secretariat to focus on long-term vision and with another 14 sponsors involved, including silver sponsor Fiji Airways and the recently joined My Fiji, the event has secured widespread industry backing.
FETA chairwoman Debra Sadranu said the partnerships were vital for the event’s longevity and growth.
“We’re very grateful to our sponsors because clearly, the awards would not be able to move forward without their support and it’s great to see that so many sponsors are actually reaching out to us and wanting to be a part of this incredible event that supports Fiji’s tourism industry,” she said.
Ms Sadranu said that sponsorship agreements allow for future opportunities.
“All of our sponsors have fortunately renewed their sponsorship agreements but obviously all of the contracts have a time frame.
“We do look forward to giving other sponsors opportunity at some point of time because there are so many people in the industry that are wanting to support so having sponsorship enables us to do that but also, we can be open to new sponsorships in the future.”
To ensure the highest standards, FETA has incorporated international collaboration into its judging process.
A mixture of local and international judges will evaluate the submissions, which closed in October last year.
“To ensure transparency, once again exclusivity and also equal opportunity, you know that’s really important for us and I think the calibre of judges this year is really going to elevate and ensure that they follow through with that,” Ms Sadranu said.
“Initially the submissions are all based on the quality of the submissions but all of the judges are experienced in their fields and they understand the importance of digging in a little deeper to ensure that the finalists are credible.” The awards will also continue using the gold, silver and bronze tier system to provide more opportunities. This year’s theme, ‘Echoes of Fiji’, will be brought to life by gold sponsors Rosie Holidays and Encore.
