The Contribution Of Tourism To The Development Of Fiji And Other Pacific Island Countries

Over the last two decades, tourism has become the major driver of economic growth in many Pacific Island countries (PICs), most notably Fiji, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa, and it is becoming increasingly important in others. Conventionally, its main economic impact is generally considered to be in providing foreign exchange and employment, and contributing to the gross domestic product. While statistical data are often unreliable or even non-existent, such indices are important, and an attempt is made in the paper to compare the differential economic impacts of tourism in PICs. At the same time, other and less obvious forms of economic impacts are also relevant. The structure of the tourism industry, especially the hotel and guest house sector, can be quite different across island states, and whereas new institutional players, in the form of transnational hotels, have an important role in tourism development in Fiji, they are much less apparent in such PICs as Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands. In addition, forms of poverty alleviation other than those conventionally discussed are also relevant. Further benefits, even less easy to categorise, come with the more ad hoc exercise of corporate social responsibility by (large and small) hotels, which includes, but is not restricted to, assistance in medical and educational projects. This chapter discusses the above issues and assesses the region's potential for future tourism, with due reference to the need for political stability and a stable global financial environment.