by The resort is located on the edge of one of the largest barrier reefs in the world. Powered by solar energy, in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, there are no air conditioners or pools. Most food is grown in their gardens or fished from the sea, and all employees are hired from local villages. This is Nukubati on the northern coast of Fiji’s Vanua Levu island and at the forefront of a growing movement to transform Pacific tourism.
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“Our aim is really to improve our environment rather than take away from it,” says Nukubati director Jenny Leewai Bourke. Nukubati is a member of Duavata, a consortium of Fijian tourism businesses that say their industry should improve the environment and cultural heritage. But the question is complex.
Pacific island countries – among the most vulnerable in the world to the climate crisis – are struggling with how to balance the environmental and cultural impact of tourism with economic necessity. There is no enforceable, region-wide agreement on sustainable practices, only an outline of guidelines and initiatives. Tourism, the backbone of many island economies, has begun to recover from the devastation wrought by the Covid pandemic. The influx of visitors prompted calls for change.
“We have to demand a rebellion against business as usual,” former Vanuatu tourism director Jerry Spooner says of mass tourism. “It is vital that we consider the impact of our travels on destinations and Indigenous communities.”
Across the region, new tourism models are emerging. Vanuatu and the Cook Islands are promoting “regenerative” tourism and French Polynesia is pushing a “slow” tourism model. Bora Bora, an island within French territory, has put a limit on arrivals to preserve their way of life. Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean, asks visitors to sign a pledge to act in an ecologically responsible manner.
But experts say a lack of monitoring to track impact, weak governance and limited resources are preventing Pacific tourism from making environmental progress. They call for soft measures – voluntary commitments or certification schemes – to be underpinned by legislation.
In a five-part series, the Guardian examines the challenge facing Pacific island nations in balancing economic dependence on tourism with its environmental impact – where the destruction has occurred, where new models are at work and how tourists can make a difference.
The regulation has no force
Across the Pacific, there is a web of laws, regulations and strategies related to sustainable tourism practices.
Many governments have sustainable tourism strategies and environmental legislation. The Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), the region’s leading industry group with 21 member states, has developed a sustainable tourism framework and destination standards. They include wide-ranging guidelines from reducing the use of plastic and energy to protecting culture. Sustainability certification schemes are also in place at national and global level.
But in reality most of the frameworks and guidelines are not enforceable or widely monitored. Joseph Cheer, professor of tourism and sustainable heritage at the University of Western Sydney in Australia, says frameworks have established “desired parameters” for the industry and compliance is voluntary.
“This is one of the biggest challenges in the Pacific,” says Cheer. “A firm’s decision to stick with them is entirely up to them. There is no compulsion or penalty if you don’t follow them.”
Although he cautions against generalizing about the region, Cheer says there is a lack of data collected on sustainability measures and a poor record of governance in the Pacific.
The World Sustainable Tourism Council is a prominent organization that sets standards and facilitates certification for destinations and businesses around the world – Singapore, Järvsö in Sweden and the Australian ski resort of Thredbo are among the GSTC certified locations they have received. No Pacific destination has been certified, although some have adopted its standards.
One of these is Fiji, the most visited country in the Pacific with more than 636,000 arrivals in 2022. It has adopted GSTC standards as national guidelines this year. Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill admits they are being rolled out slowly and are still selective. The sector accounts for almost 40% of Fiji’s GDP and the government is developing a national sustainable tourism framework, which will include similar opt-out standards.
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Vanuatu, which before the Covid Pandemic saw tourism at around 36% of GDP, was among the first Pacific nations to adopt an official sustainable tourism strategy. The country, along with the Cook Islands, provides optional eco and sustainable tourism certifications for businesses. Vanuatu hopes to obtain GSTC certification and wants 60% of tourism businesses to be certified by local authorities by 2025.
However, Stephen Pratt, chair of the department of tourism, events and attractions at the University of Central Florida, says across the Pacific there has been “little regulation or self-regulation by the private sector” when it comes to sustainable tourism. This is mainly due to a lack of resources by governments, “the tyranny of distance” and the difficulty of monitoring remote locations.
New models of tourism
As “green” standards and certification systems emerge, countries are trying to attract tourists with a focus on the environment and culture.
French Polynesia, a territory that includes Tahiti, markets its more than 100 islands as “slow tourism” destinations. Slow tourism suggests spending more time in one place, in favor of transport such as walking or cycling. It also promotes cultural experiences, for example, a visit to a tao plantation, where tourists are shown how to harvest and cook the edible root.
Other countries are exploring “regenerative” tourism, which requires visitors to leave a positive impact. They can help restore coral reefs, stay in locally run guesthouses or eat locally grown food.
“More tourism dollars stay in the country and visitors have more authentic and meaningful experiences,” says Spooner, who now runs the nonprofit Regeneration Vanuatu.
He says that agritourism – where farming is integrated into tourist experiences – turns traditional practices into a “story” and benefits communities.
“Visitors who show excitement in traditional food experiences help build pride in local food systems and thereby discourage reliance on unhealthy imported foods which is a major health issue in Pacific Island countries.”
The Cook Islands’ five-year tourism strategy, launched in 2022, includes attracting “responsible” travelers by marketing regenerative experiences, as well as a focus on culture and traditions. Visitors are encouraged to eat local food instead of imported food at restaurants, and support “mana tikai” (stewardship) certified businesses. Mana tiaki is a free certification system for businesses that meet standards of sustainability and environmental care.
Elsewhere in the region, New Caledonia says sustainability is one of its core tourism values. Samoa’s tourism development plan includes an aim to become a more “resilient, inclusive and green” tourism destination.
Pratt says that while the niche segments of tourism are important “they will never get the number of tourists – at least not like before”.
But Dr Susanne Becken, professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University, notes that while small, locally owned businesses may attract fewer visitors than a mass tourism model, “that doesn’t necessarily mean the benefit is for people lower local.”
Becken says that voluntary schemes, such as mana tiika or the Palau pledge are useful but “ideally, such soft measures are complemented by legislation and standards, such as the phasing out of single-use plastic, supported through the Litter Project the Pacific”.
A clearer picture of the impact of tourism would help guide policy making. Becken says there is a lack of data on the carbon footprint and environmental toll of tourism in the Pacific, although the SPTO is working in this area.
Given their remote locations, reducing transport emissions – by air or sea – is one of the Pacific nation’s biggest environmental challenges. Travel and tourism account for up to 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2021 report from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
SPTO chief executive Christopher Cocker says that while the Pacific islands’ contribution to global emissions is small, “a green industry depends on the transformation of the transport sector”.
Tourists are driving change
Despite the growing focus on sustainability, prominent Samoan climate change activist Brianna Fruean says the region needs to “reshape” its relationship with tourism.
“Not only are tourists allowed to come to our Pacific Islands and it’s free for all … we are custodians of our islands, and when you are guests on our islands, you have to to be guardians too, you must be a good guest.”
Richard Markham, a member of the Fiji Duavata collective, agrees that visitors need to take responsibility for their impact. Markham says travelers who want a “green vacation” need to do their research.
“Where these are not regulated, it is the responsibility of the consumer to identify the most sustainable products,” he says, acknowledging that “the risk of greenwashing and lack of transparency could make this difficult”.
Markham says tourists should try to “book with locally owned businesses and operators who express their concerns through genuine engagement with local communities and the environment.”
“Visitors can show that they really care and won’t be put off by ‘greenwashing’ – and that might encourage the industry to make substantial changes,” he says.
