Wellness tourism will play an increasingly important role in Fiji’s visitor economy as travellers look beyond traditional beach holidays for experiences that improve their physical and emotional wellbeing, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism Viliame Gavoka.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 CIDESCO World Congress in Nadi on Saturday, Mr Gavoka said the changing expectations of international travellers presented Fiji with an opportunity to develop a distinctive wellness tourism industry.
“The traveller has changed. People no longer cross the world only for a beach and a sunset, though we have the finest of both,” Mr Gavoka said.
“They are looking for experiences that can restore them, connect them to a place and leave them feeling better than when they arrived.”
He said Fiji could build its wellness offering around its natural environment, traditional knowledge and renowned hospitality rather than attempting to replicate international spa experiences.
“Fiji can be that destination. Not a copy of a spa you could find anywhere. Fiji itself: our ocean, our gardens, and above all, the hands and knowledge of our people.”
Mr Gavoka said internationally recognised training and certification would also strengthen Fiji’s competitiveness by giving visitors confidence that local therapists met global professional standards.
The Government, he said, regarded wellness as more than simply another tourism marketing product.
“For Government of Fiji, wellness is a real part of our tourism economy, not a line in a brochure,” he said.
“It is part of how we diversify our visitor economy, develop our people, strengthen local supply chains and create experiences that are distinctly ours.”
Mr Gavoka highlighted Nama Fiji’s “Sea to Skin” model as an example of how wellness tourism could generate benefits throughout local communities.
Nama harvested by women in rural communities is transformed into skincare products before being used by professionally trained therapists.
“This is how tourism should work for a small island nation: the value stays here, in our villages and with our people,” he said.
Mr Gavoka said the longer-term ambition was to train a new generation of Fijian therapists, develop internationally competitive spas and salons and encourage young people to regard wellness as a viable career.
The 2026 CIDESCO World Congress is being held in the South Pacific for the first time and coincides with the international organisation’s 80th anniversary.
