“Tourism exploiting Fiji”

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33447, 31 January 1974, Page 14

“Tourism exploiting Fiji”

Fiji’s rapidly expanding tourist industry meant that the people were being exploited by richer countries, according to the director of the Y.W.C.A. in Fiji (Miss A. Rokotuivuna).

An outspoken and articulate young woman who has contributed to a recently published book, “Fiji, a Developing Australian Colony,” she was invited to New Zealand to lecture at a seminar on development education for secondary school teachers and university lecturers organised by C.0.R.5.0. “All in the group which

produced the book felt that political independence for Fiji did not mean economic independence, but rather dependence on Australia and, to a lesser extent, on New Zealand,” she said in an interview in Christchurch yesterday. Australia set its trade terms with Fiji and she suspected that some big busi-

ness interests gave financial support to the ruling party. “Tourism is one of the things of very little benefit to the people of Fiji,” she said. “We are told it is a labourintensive industry, but we find it is capital-intensive with extensive investment by foreign companies. “Large hotels being con-

structed may absorb big numbers of workers, but when the work is finished, employees have to leave.” Miss Rokotuivuna said that the nature and size of the hotel industry encouraged in Fiji meant that no-one but multi-national corporations had the finance to build hotels — which cost between s4m and ssm. A Fijian or Indian did not have a chance.

The Government of Fiji did not seem to be aware of what was happening and the country was being exploited. The Southern Pacific Properties, Ltd, group was cited by Miss Rokotuivuna as one example of large overseas financial interests controlling a major portion of the tourist industry.

Two hotels, she said, were owned by an American airline, and funds earned through tourists visiting Fiji stayed in the United States. The large hotels encouraged rich tourists, symbolising to the Fijian people the rich white person. “And so the people continue to serve, perpetuating the colonial relationship,” she added.

Emphasis on the Fijian people encouraged differences between races—the Fijians were urged to maintain an extrovert character, and always to smile in spite of their troubles. The Indians were “hidden away” as clerks and accounting personnel. Miss Rokotuivuna says that Ministers and economists are interested in pushing up the gross national product and are not concerned with the distribution of wealth. She said that concerned

Fijians wanted to see small hotels and tourists with not too much money. Her country imported a great deal of canned food from New Zealand and Australia, and there should be more emphasis on food production, she said.