The Development of the Fijian Tourism Industry - Essay Example

? Short summary of the key industry speakers from the field trip, drawing conclusions of their overall importance to the development of the Fijian tourism industry Contents Contents 2 Fiji Airways 3 Tourism Fiji 4 South Sea Cruises 5 Awesome Adventures 5 Vinaka Fiji 6 Nadi Bay Resort 6 Rosie Holidays 7 AUSAID/ APTC 8 Captain Cook Cruises 9 Oarsman’s Bay 10 Blue Lagoon Resort 10 References 12 Fiji Airways a) Fiji Airways connects the archipelago with the rest of the world. The airline services cater to 16 destinations. The tourists visiting Fiji prefer this brand because of the high quality of services. Fiji Airways has partnered with the Qantas Airlines and American Airlines which has enabled the brand to reach out to a much larger customer base in the opposite parts of the world. The Airlines has partnered with the tour operations for catering to the package deals rather than the individual customers because the place is visited mostly for tourism purpose. The company has rendered its services to the government during time of catastrophe of the Tsunami which has provided an additional leverage to popularity of the brand. The company has entered the Chinese market rather than the Singapore market because the market is untapped and there is a lot of scope to enter into alliances with the other Airlines flying to different parts of the world. Since the journeys are longer, the company intends to make the trip an entertaining one and set up sales agencies in China from where the potential customers can be acquired (Fiji Airways, 2013, p. 1). b) A number of areas of consideration are there where the airline intends to improve its services. It includes the frequency of the flights and more accuracy in the timings. The company can add more destinations to its portfolio which would improve the sales of Fiji Airlines. For the flight services, Fiji Airways would make improvisation of their menu serving a 5 course meal and better wines since the flight timings are longer and the travellers need to be engaged. The Fiji Airways can make the tourism of Fiji popular to the rest of the world with the effective use of the Brand name. Tourism Fiji a) Since Tourism is the main source of income for Fiji Islands, the initiative of the government to promote the Tourism is on various grounds. The Brand Fiji is a composite package of the luxury resorts, the private islands for the tourists, the sun bathed beaches and the adventures that are arranged for the potential customers. Tourism Fiji has attempted at the consolidation of the markets at US, Australia, New Zealand and other places internationally. The country as to move towards a more sustainable tourism by involving more of the local people into the activities through empowerment. The country provides a 4 month Visa option to the customers to encourage their stay in the islands (Official Website of Tourism Fiji, 2013, p.1). b) Tourism Fiji has various challenges lying ahead of it. People only look at the principal islands when they plan their travel but ignore other regions. There are limitations on the facilities that the resorts would provide along with the restrictions on the flexibility of the flights. The government has to continuously invest in the development and up gradation of the facilities in the disaster prone islands. The misperception of the people about the pricing and quality has made several tourists hesitant to opt for the Fiji tour. Since the tourism at the present stage is mostly on the fag ends of the customer continuum, more medium category of tourism facilities has to be arranged so that the number of visitors gets increased. The places which are preferred by the tourists especially the northern parts do not have enough hotel facilities. The establishment of the individual island brands like Denarau have to be encouraged by Tourism Fiji so that they act as catalysts in the tourism development. South Sea Cruises a) Being the leader in the maritime operator services in Fiji this Brand provides the water transportation to various parts of the islands. Since the country is spread over a large number of islands this waterway connectivity is essential for the tourism development of Fiji Islands. The brand mainly targets the holiday-makers from Australia and New Zealand. The company mainly takes lease of the islands and reserves them for the potential customers. The tourists are provided with the authentic Fiji experience with incorporation of local cuisines and culture into the tour programme. The tourists who take the islands on lease have to ensure that the ecological balance and the land quality are strictly maintained. This kind of a tour programme would help the islands retain the heritage of the islands. b) The key issues that this brand faces are the rise in the prices of the fuel which has made goods available in the island extremely costly. The villagers get them at subsidised prices while the local and the tourists have to a premium. The villagers are supported by the trust that helps them at the times of need. Awesome Adventures a) This particular tourism package revolves around 17 islands in Fiji. 32 resorts spread over Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands cater to the travellers with their host of services like sailing adventures, snorkelling, kayaking, fishing and spa services. Most of these are targeted towards the adventure lovers coming to Fiji. AA has started this package to support the local people who would want to start their businesses by buying them the necessary goods that are required to conduct the business. The government has also provided loans to the local people that would help them set up their own businesses. b) The increasing number of the owners of small businesses have made the growth of this retarded. The problems that are faced by the people are in keeping the boats floating for a long time as there might be technical problems with the engines. There is also a lack of manpower for the support activities other than hospitality. The hosts also need to be trained for disaster management in times of natural calamities. Due to rise in the transportation costs the resorts have arranged for their own boats to carry the goods to the island. There is also lack of downloadable mobile actions for holiday booking. Vinaka Fiji a) Vinaka Fiji is a volunteering programme conducted by the Yasawa Trust Foundation to promote the economic and social condition of the local inhabitants through the provision of the necessary amenities, health, education, training and establishment support for the small families (Vinaka Fiji, 2013, p. 1). These kinds of programmes draw a lot of humble crowd from different parts of the world to the Fiji Islands. There are more than 32 villages out of which this service is available in 5 villages only. b) A large number of local children who require this assistance face a lot of water problems. The Fiji Islands authority should extend their helping hand towards the local people but they should not hamper the natural ways of lives of the people. The volunteering process will have to be undertaken to make the communities sustainable keeping the ecological balance unperturbed. Nadi Bay Resort a) Nadi Bay is one of the resort hotels of the islands. This resort was planned in accordance with the sustainability norms in the later stages. Several investors from Australia invest on these islands by setting up local houses called Bures along with planning for food (Jones and Pinheiro, 1997, p. 207). The people coming from China are more interested to invest in the agricultural parts of the island and therefore do not spend much on these resorts. b) The market demand however fluctuated over time for these resorts which may lead to inconsistent revenue generation for the owners. The hotels at Nadi Bay face less demand from the travellers because the overseas people tend to put up at the hotels that are near to the airport rather than the faraway ones. These resorts lacked environmental planning and resources to combat the climatic adversities. There are issues of conflict of interest between the tourism authorities of Australia with those of Fiji. Rosie Holidays a) Rosie Holidays is a tour operator that caters to the people who arrive at the Fiji Islands. It is a company that takes part in the destination management. There are various resorts in different islands. The main target market for the brand is the North America, New Zealand, Australia and other markets. The resort takes a strategy of capturing the market by allotment of shifts for specific time zones of countries across the world. The Brand also targets the Russian population because the revenue generated from them is much larger than those from the Australians. Chinese and Indian Markets are more price-sensitive. Korea being a flourishing market, flights have been arranged to meet the needs of the travellers. These features have made the company more connected to the rest of the world. b) Proper market research needs to be done to get a proper insight about the target market and the areas where improvement is required. Casinos are restricted in the islands because it is against the culture of the native people. However, some places have these facilities. The diversified culture that the island exhibits is a sustainable one. Better public relations have to be done with the national tourism development authority to make a better brand presence. AUSAID/ APTC a) The Australian Government renders support to the Fiji Islands in the pacific for the economic development of the local people. The government strives to eradicate the problems of poverty on the region, reduce the child mortality rates, promote gender inequality and establish a proper healthcare set up in the country. If these things are taken care of the people of the islands would be living happily and the outsiders would be willing to visit such a destination (Commonwealth of Australia, 2012, p. 1). The APTC also supports the education industry in Fiji Islands. The training and development of the hospitality staff of the resorts and services are provided by the Australian Universities (Australia-Pacific Technical College, 2008, p. 1). There are other educational institutes in Fiji that have been set up under the aid of the Australian Government. The overseas students who come to these institutions contribute to the development of the place and take back a lot of information about the place to the countries where they belong to. b) There are several issues with the unemployment of the graduating students from the universities in Fiji, the chief being lack of interest in the hospitality management business. There are other cultural reasons like family issues of having a baby or natural calamities which has led to the increase in unemployment in the country. Most of the people reside in the rural areas therefore it is necessary to get them enrolled into the schools as well as colleges so that they get employed in skilled jobs later. The lack of skill in also faced in the technical knowledge for the hospitality industry. Hence there is need for specialised cooks and mechanics that would take care of the technical problems in the resorts. The political pressure prevails in the country because the country is dependent on the government funding for most of the activities including education and infrastructure. Captain Cook Cruises a) Captain Cook Australia provides cruise services to the Fiji Islands from Australia. There are options for the tourist of 3, 4 and 7 nights tour programme (Captain Cook Cruises, 2011, p. 1). Along with the heavenly atmosphere the tourist can discover the other facets of the place through the different expeditions like Spa Services and Diving. The cruises takes place from Nadi which is a central point in the Fiji Islands and therefore open to opportunity for Marketing. They have developed an 11 night cruise to meet the needs of the customers who take repeat tours within a short span of time. The major areas covered in this tour are inhabited by the local people who have been able to retain their tradition in the country. The main attractiveness of the tour is that the Westerners get to experience their ways of life while on this cruise. The tour is mostly conducted by the young people these days. Most of the revenue that the cruise generates is from the repeat visitors. The corporate bookings are relatively less for Captain Cook. b) Key issues challenges that the place faces are the increase in the cost of the fuel which in turn has increased the price of the necessary good in this place. The cruise is also very expensive and mainly caters to the Australian Market. There is also lack of flexibility in the dates that are offered to the travellers. Only specific dates are available in which the tourists have to accommodate their trip plans and schedules. The cruise ships have also faced several incidents of natural calamities where both economic and human losses have been encountered. Oarsman’s Bay a) The Oarsman’s Bay is located in the Yasawa Islands is one of the newly nurtured area of tourism. The Market for this place is somewhat limited to the pacific countries like Mauritius and Maldives. The resorts in these places have helped in the creation of employment opportunity for the local people and thereby contributing to the economic development of the place and the inhabitants. Progress of tourism in this place also helps in the education of the children as well as in the establishment of the schools (Oarsman's Bay Lodge, 2012, p. 1). b) The waste management of the place is not very developed because of the absence of any rubbish collection method. This has made the place a much unhygienic one leading to imbalances in the environment. The protection of the corals and the reefs are important for the proper maintenance of the ecosystem. Blue Lagoon Resort a) Blue Lagoon Resort is situated in the Yasawa Islands. The Vinaka Fiji had contributed in the setting up of the water tanks in this area. The places for hospitality in the island have also created jobs to the native residents that have contributed to the welfare of the community. Despite the ownership being under a Westerner, the resort has all the aspects of Fijian nature. The frontline staffs are all Fijian. This has enabled the island capture the interest of the travellers. They find the Fijian Culture undisturbed at this place. There are about 37 rooms to cater to the needs of different customers with varied levels of budgets. There are general direct sales and online marketing strategies. Third parties also contribute to the revenue generation of the resort. b) The lack in differentiation in the marketing strategy is the reason why the resort is not being able to capture any specialised market. Though different prices are charged from different budget consumers, they get the same meal and get to do the same activities. The prices of the goods that come to the island are extremely high which hurt the budget of the tourists as well as the local people. Most of the educational facilities of the Fiji Islands are funded by the overseas volunteers and the government through the donations of the tourists. Since the students in such schools get a lot of support for their education and their basic needs, the students lack competitiveness and do not show eagerness to perform. References Australia-Pacific Technical College, 2008. Partners and industry. Available at: http://www.aptc.edu.au/index.php/partners-and-industry. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Captain Cook Cruises, 2011. Fiji Tours. Available at: http://www.captaincook.com.au/fiji-cruises/. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. Pacific/ Fiji. Available at: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/countries/pacific/fiji/Pages/default.aspx. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Fiji Airways, 2013. Six Decades of Flying to Fiji. Available at: http://www.fijiairways.com/about-fiji-airways/our-history/. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Jones, R. and Pinheiro, L. (1997). Fiji: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications. Oarsman's Bay Lodge, 2012. Tours and Activities at Oarsman’s Bay Lodge. Available at: http://www.oarsmansbaylodge.com/tour. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Official Website of Tourism Fiji, 2013. Information. Available at: http://www.fiji.travel/. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Vinaka Fiji, 2013. Vinaka Fiji Yasawa Trust Foundation. Available at: http://www.vinakafiji.org.fj/. [Accessed on 4th October 2013]. Read More