NUKUBATI Island Resort co-owner and executive director Jenny Bourke has called for a shift in Fiji’s tourism mindset, emphasising that true sustainability relies on investing in local people and communities rather than relying solely on eco-friendly technology.
Speaking at the HOTEC 2026 tradeshow information session in Nadi last week, Ms Bourke shared lessons from operating a remote resort for nearly four decades.
She said that genuine sustainability integrated the local population, culture, and natural environment directly into the guest experience.
“Sustainability is very much grounded in people,” Ms Bourke said.
“The people I work with, the community that I’m depending on, and our culture and our natural environment aren’t separate from the tourism product. They are the tourism product.”
Addressing workforce challenges in remote locations, Ms Bourke said her resort was committed to training staff entirely on-site.
She said that relying on local talent created a uniquely authentic hospitality experience that outside recruits could not replicate, while ensuring tourism dollars remained in the country.
Ms Bourke also advocated for high-value, lower-volume tourism, alongside local food procurement and nature-based environmental protection, such as living seawalls.
She cautioned against commercialising Fijian culture purely for guest entertainment, urging operators to build genuine, reciprocal partnerships with neighbouring villages.
“The shift in our relationship should be from tourism using the community to tourism working with the community,” Ms Bourke said.
“Our role as tourism operators is not to manufacture that authenticity. It’s to create respectful opportunities for genuine connections.”
