This week, Fiji is hosting the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) 2025 Global Conference for the very first time. And yes, we’re proud. Proud that our small island country is making big waves by placing itself at the centre of the global sustainability conversation.
Proud that over 350 delegates from around the world have travelled here to listen, share and collaborate on one of the most pressing issues of our time — most significantly for the Pacific.
And quietly proud that they’ve been getting a proper Fijian welcome, too, not just in spirit, but in practice. But this article isn’t about the GSTC conference, despite its significance.
It’s about what it represents: a moment of reflection and a hard look in the mirror.
For those of us in tourism, sustainability isn’t a fashionable topic to trot out when the media or policymakers are paying attention. It has now become the business plan. The roadmap. And increasingly, it’s the only viable way forward.
We’ve said it before and will keep shouting it if that’s what it takes to get more policy and national attention. But repetition doesn’t make the message less urgent.
Last week’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which sent tsunami ripples across the world, was a blunt reminder of just how precarious our island existence can be.
Events like that don’t just shake the earth. They shake our assumptions, too. They remind us that climate resilience isn’t a theoretical framework; it’s a daily reality for small island nations like ours.
And should be a reminder of how fragile our existence is were Mother Nature to really be in a bad mood!
So, while this global conference has brought a spotlight, we know the work of sustainability isn’t a three-day affair. It’s year-round. Systemic. And deeply local.
In Fiji, sustainability shows up in all the ways that matter, and often, in ways that don’t make international headlines.
It’s seen in a family-run resort investing in composting toilets because there’s no reliable sewage connection and the resort is acutely aware that they must protect that pristine marine environment that is at their doorstep and the reason for its popularity with international travellers.
It’s there when a dive operator chooses to cancel trips to a reef recovering from bleaching while they work on ways to support its regrowth.
Or when a property builds raised walkways to protect mangroves rather than remove them for access to a beachfront villa. It’s the invisible, intentional choices made by people who know that what we do today directly impacts our environments tomorrow.
This week, GSTC delegates have gone beyond the conference halls — immersing themselves in tailored familiarisations across Fiji.
From witnessing reef restoration in the Mamanucas to sharing in highland cultural traditions, they’re not just seeing the sights — they’re experiencing sustainability, firsthand. Here sustainability is a layered, living reality.
It means protecting ecosystems and empowering communities. It means ensuring tourism dollars stay local — circulating through families and small businesses, not disappearing offshore.
It means equipping our youth not only to join the tourism industry, but to redefine and lead it. And more than ever, it means asking bold questions about the kind of tourism future we’re shaping together, where bold decisions mean we identify now where we limit how far tourism grows or where we don’t want tourism at all.
At FHTA, we’ve worked closely with our members to push this conversation beyond boardrooms and conference halls.
From large chain resorts to family-owned operations on outer islands, we’re seeing encouraging shifts, not just in intention, but in implementation. Operators are embracing renewable energy, switching to reef-safe products, adding marine protection programs to activity options, planting mangroves, and trialing new waste management solutions.
None of them are perfect, and many options are challenging and expensive to apply. But we’re quietly proud that we see it happening. And we’re not doing it alone.
Tourism Fiji’s initiatives, like their new Net Zero Carbon Office, electric vehicle fleet, and the ever-growing Loloma Hour movement, are helping lay a broader foundation.
These aren’t just PR lines; they’re tangible shifts that show what lower-emissions, experience-led tourism models could look like.
Rosie Holidays, for example, launched their electric vehicle fleet this week during the conference, not because it’s trendy, but because it’s necessary.
And we have noted Tewaka as transport and destination management operators also commence their own fleet upgrades that embrace this alternative. That’s leadership to applaud.
Sustainability, after all, cannot remain abstract. It must become operational, embedded in how and why we build, market, transport, employ, and host. And while industry action matters, so too does community participation.
Initiatives like “If You Can’t Bin It, Bag It” highlight the importance of practical, everyday engagement with waste management.
This is where values meet action, where the Fijian idea of caring for others, for vanua and future generations becomes something you can share, measure and feel the difference.
This is also where the GSTC framework helps.
By aligning with international standards, we’re not just meeting minimum standards or certification criteria; we’re accessing technical tools, benchmarking resources, and peer networks that help us move more confidently in the right direction.
It’s less about ticking boxes and more about embedding a common language and pathway for continuous improvement, especially for smaller operators who need more support than slogans.
And support is crucial.
Too often, the narrative around sustainability assumes that everyone starts from the same place. But in the Pacific, and certainly in Fiji, we have geographical, logistical, and economic constraints that require customised approaches.
A village-based ecolodge operating on solar and rainwater catchment has a different sustainability journey from a coastal resort battling sea-level rise or salt intrusion.
One-size-fits-all policies or expectations are not going to work. What we need is flexibility, resourcing, and the collective will to collaborate, not compete, on solutions.
This is why community, culture, and responsible development formed one of the three core themes of the GSTC 2025 conference.
Because tourism, especially in island nations, is ultimately about people. It’s about preserving what makes a place distinct and meaningful. And that includes our heritage, our language, our food, our stories.
These are not afterthoughts or side attractions; they are the essence of the tourism experience and the pillars of sustainability.
The same can be said for climate resilience and sustainable recovery, another key theme this week.
Our recent past is a testament to the fragility of tourism-dependent economies.
From pandemics to cyclones, we’ve had to learn how to absorb shocks and bounce back fiercely. But resilience isn’t just about recovery.
It’s about foresight. And integrating climate risks into every tourism development plan. It’s about building with the next cyclone in mind or learning from the last one, while restoring ecosystems because they are our best defence against future crises.
The third core theme is coastal and island tourism.
This is daily life for us in the Pacific. Reef protection, responsible diving, erosion control, shoreline retreat are more often survival strategies.
They are the things we think about when we develop a new property, expand a jetty, or plan activities. While none of this is simple, we’re not starting from scratch — traditional knowledge systems, conservation taboos, and communal resource management have long existed in our part of the world.
What we need now is to blend that deep-rooted wisdom with modern sustainability frameworks.
And to ensure that funding, training, and infrastructure are directed not just to headline projects but to the grassroots level, where the biggest impacts are often quietly made.
And while we’re talking about change, let’s also talk about measurement.
Because what gets measured gets managed. We need better data, not just on arrivals and occupancy, but on carbon emissions, reef health, water use, and waste reduction.
We need to start asking different questions: How many Fijians are employed in meaningful, long-term tourism roles? How many communities have access to tourism-generated infrastructure like water and electricity?
How many visitors leave more aware and respectful of their environmental footprint? Fiji isn’t just on the sustainability path; we are quietly helping to shape it.
And we’re doing so while ensuring that the economic benefits stay right here. At GSTC 2025, nearly 100 per cent of the event’s spending has gone to local contractors and suppliers, from hotels and caterers to bands and transport providers. That’s sustainability in action.
That’s economic impact done right. As this week’s conference unfolds, the energy is palpable — charged with urgency, ambition, and a powerful blend of thought leadership and grounded pragmatism. Workshops are overflowing.
Questions spark dialogue. Ideas collide and expand. It’s a brainstorm for the planet, and Fiji is right at the heart of it. But after the last keynote is delivered and the delegates board their flights home, the spotlight shifts — from inspiration to implementation.
That’s when the real work begins. It’s in the follow-through. In the commitment to ask sharper questions and deliver stronger outcomes. Because sustainability isn’t a task with a finish line — it’s a mindset, a system, and a shared responsibility.
We’re not waiting for ready-made models or copy-paste solutions drawn from elsewhere. We’re building something more intentional — one that’s crafted for Fiji, grounded in our realities, and responsive to our aspirations.
This is about shaping a tourism future that reflects who we are, protects what we have, and uplifts where we want to go.
