1. Could you begin by introducing Likuri Group and its family of businesses? How do these businesses fit together, and how does the group operate?
Likuri Group comprises Likuri Island Resort, Robinson Crusoe Island Tours, Likuri Fishing Charters, Likuri Sailing Adventures, and Authentic Travel.
Likuri Island Resort is currently a 23-room resort, soon expanding to 37 rooms, located on Likuri Island in Natadola, just beside InterContinental on the Coral Coast.
Robinson Crusoe Island Tours operates five different tours, four of which go to Likuri Island, while another is a village tour. That is where we support a lot of the community.
Authentic Travel is based in Port Denarau. One thing I strongly believe in is making sure we support businesses within the ecosystem. By ecosystem, I mean the people and businesses operating within the industry. Authentic Travel does exactly that.
We are the marketing and sales arm for other businesses, helping sell their tours and bring more people to these businesses. It operates more like an agency.
Likuri Fishing Charters and Likuri Sailing Adventures are currently going through a transition. Likuri Sailing Adventures is moving towards more wildlife and conservation-focused tourism. We are refurbishing our 54-foot monohull yacht and diversifying into conservation tourism, with tours to an island featuring hawksbill turtles, which are endangered, as well as the crested iguana, which is native to Fiji.
We are trying to develop more sustainable tourism in that regard.
Likuri Fishing Charters is also transitioning. We have purchased a new 35- to 40-foot catamaran that will focus mainly on game fishing and catch-and-release activities, which are more sustainable for the environment and marine life.
As far as Likuri's contribution to the industry goes, we are always focused on investment and developing new products. I see tourism as an ecosystem, so we want to make sure that when guests come into Fiji through Likuri Group, they are also supporting other partners within the industry.
That includes local transport providers, which enables us to purchase supplies from local suppliers. We are then able to give back to the community, employ more people and focus strongly on upskilling our workforce.
I think that's where the real opportunity lies. We need to continue to grow tourism, but we need to ensure that the growth creates economic value for Fijians.
2. What's the vision behind bringing these experiences together, and how do they complement one another to create a distinctive Fijian atmosphere?
It is very important to us as Likuri Group to be able to showcase all of Fiji, and that is where everything comes together.
On the accommodation side, all of our activities at the resort are cultural and Fijian-based. We offer everything from basket weaving and traditional Fijian fishing to lovo digging. Everything we do is built around authentic Fijian activities and experiences.
Guests staying at the property can experience this directly.
But what about guests who don't stay at the property? That's where the tourism side of the business comes in. Guests staying anywhere along the Coral Coast, or at other properties, can come to Robinson Crusoe Island and experience an authentic Fijian experience as a day trip.
That's very important to us.
Then we have the Authentic Travel arm, which operates as an agency promoting Fiji and Fijian experiences. So we are not only bringing guests to the resort; we are bringing guests from other properties through Robinson Crusoe Island Tours and selling authentic Fijian products.
Our goal with Likuri Sailing Adventures, which we hope to start operating within the next month, is to showcase Fiji's wildlife, particularly the crested iguana, while helping visitors understand the importance of preserving hawksbill turtles and the wider marine ecosystem.
Likuri Fishing Charters will also be about showcasing marine life, but the focus will be on catch and release rather than catch and keep.
3. Robinson Crusoe Island is one of Fiji's best-known day experiences and entertainment destinations. What makes it special, and how do you keep the experience fresh and authentic for Fijians and first-time visitors?
When guests increase their length of stay, they spend more money, which in turn means we employ more people and more of that economic benefit filters down to everyday Fijians.
We need to diversify not only the products we offer, but how we look at tourism as a whole. Instead of simply getting numbers into the country, we need to focus on metrics such as increasing the length of stay and average spend per person.
We pride ourselves on making our experiences immersive and participatory.
For example, we have a Mud Crab Catching Tour where guests are involved in catching mud crabs. They pull the crab pots, and then the culinary experience continues: they catch the mud crabs, cook them and enjoy them.
At the resort, guests can also participate in basket weaving. And it isn't simply basket weaving for the sake of it. The baskets are then used to put food into the earth oven, or lovo, creating a genuinely hands-on cultural experience.
We also have an activity called the Bush Medicine Walk. Its importance lies in teaching people about the history of Fiji's plants and flora, including how they were traditionally used for medicine, construction and other purposes.
We are also designing a mini museum at the resort, featuring authentic pottery and Fijian artifacts.
Likuri Island has deep historical significance for the people of Fiji. There have been claims that Likuri Island is where the first Fijians arrived when they came to Fiji, and we still find Lapita pottery on the island.
So, coming back to your question about showcasing an authentic experience, I think the island itself likes to show off by occasionally giving guests a bit of a souvenir to take home with them.
4. Local communities, cultures and people are central to the Fijian experience. How does the group support local employment, training and partnerships with other communities and Fijian suppliers across its affiliations?
Seventy percent of our employees on the island come from one village, the neighboring village of Vusama. Interestingly, 50% of that 70% have only ever worked in one place, which is Likuri.
I can very confidently say that we don't just introduce people to the workforce at Likuri; we introduce people to the tourism industry, because many of our people who have worked at Likuri have moved on to other resorts elsewhere.
That is very important to us.
Beyond providing employment, we support neighboring communities by ensuring our guests visit their villages. We encourage communities to develop handicrafts and other economic activities while guests are there, helping them become more self-sustainable.
We are also finalizing the Likuri Community Program, or LCPP. Its purpose is not only to give back to the community but also to enhance talent. For example, when someone going through school needs scholarship assistance, we are able to provide that support.
And, as I mentioned earlier, we strongly support industry partners, particularly small businesses.
Everyone we give business to, from suppliers to farmers and fishermen, are local people. That's very important to us.
5. How important are technology and digital marketing to the group's growth?
We have recently completed a major upgrade of our property management system, or PMS. We need to stay up to date with technology, and this enables us to be visible to the world through our channel manager, SiteMinder.
We've also invested heavily in digital marketing. Our website went up around two years ago, and we also have a Robinson Crusoe Island Tours website, which we are currently auditing and updating.
We invest heavily in digital advertising and print media, and we regularly bring photographers to the island to refresh our visual assets so that we can showcase the destination to the world.
We also work closely with companies in Australia and New Zealand on our digital presence, including website development, Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms.
Tourism is evolving, and so is tourism marketing. We are working very hard to keep pace with both.
Tourism Fiji also does a very good job, and we rely heavily on Tourism Fiji to help us reach agents and customers around the world through digital channels.
6. Sustainability is increasingly important across island tourism and marine activities. What steps is the group taking to protect Fiji's natural environment and operate its resorts, ports and charters more responsibly?
Sustainability is very important to us.
As you've noticed, we are developing Likuri Sailing Adventures around wildlife conservation. But once you're on an island, you quickly understand that everything is an issue: water is an issue, energy is an issue, and logistics is an issue.
We make it our operational responsibility to ensure that we are sustainable.
For water security, we have invested heavily in desalination plants. We take water from the ocean, desalinate it and use it as potable water. That also helps us reduce plastic consumption.
We have a comprehensive recycling program on the island. Rather than simply sending recyclables back to the mainland, we recycle at source, separating materials so they are ready for recycling.
We also have a well-established mangrove planting program. We involve guests directly in sustainability, which makes it more engaging. We can even name mangrove plants after guests, allowing them to return two years later and see how their plant is doing.
Mangroves are a very important part of the marine ecosystem.
We also focus on smaller aspects of sustainability. Kitchen and food waste ends up at a piggery, where it can be utilized by pigs and farming animals in the villages.
We try to do as much as we can, given what is available to us in Fiji, to ensure that we operate sustainably.
7. North America is a significant and growing source market for Fiji. What opportunities do you see for attracting more travelers from the U.S., particularly from the West Coast and California, and how is the group positioned to capture that demand?
The USA, California and the West Coast create a very interesting opportunity for Fiji. But Fiji needs to be positioned correctly for these guests.
I personally don't want Fiji to be positioned just as a tropical gateway. I don't want Fiji to be positioned as a place where you can go, get your Instagrammable photos and that's it.
It shouldn't be postcards. It shouldn't be beaches, cocktails and resorts.
It is very important for us to position Fiji around its authentic experience.
It is a long-haul flight from America, and when guests come to Fiji, they should know that something special is waiting for them.
They should experience our food and culture. They should get out of the resort.
Traditionally, we have had a “flop and drop” type of tourism, where guests spend seven days at a resort, get into a shuttle and go back home.
That's not how Fiji should be positioned for this market.
Fiji should be positioned as a place where you come for seven days and do different things throughout that stay. You get out of the resort, visit a village, experience marine tourism, go fishing for a day or diving for a day.
That is where the value is.
At the end of the day, I want guests coming from the U.S. market to feel like they are taking a bit of Fiji with them when they leave, not just leaving Fiji behind.
8. Looking ahead, what are Likuri Group's priorities, and what message would you like to share with American travelers considering Fiji?
For Likuri Group, we will continue to develop our product offering.
As I mentioned, we are investing in a new desalination plant and a new wastewater treatment plant. Within the next 12 to 18 months, this will allow us to increase capacity and welcome more guests to the resort.
What that does in turn is enable us to support everyone within the tourism ecosystem even more.
Fiji itself is going through a very important period. We are seeing record numbers of tourists coming into the country, but it is important to focus on average length of stay and diversification.
That, in turn, attracts investors.
Investment is critical, but the right investment for the country is what matters. What investors leave behind is also very important.
If investment creates employment, is sustainable, gives back to the community and develops the existing workforce, I think this is the type of investment Fiji should be looking at.
For Likuri Group, we will continue to evolve and diversify our business because the right investment and diversification can create employment and make a stronger contribution to the economy.
Tourism needs to be more than an industry when it comes to its contribution to the Fijian economy.
And to readers considering a trip to Fiji, I would say: Fiji 100 percent needs to be on your list of things to do.
We are not your usual Hawaii. We are not your Bahamas. We are not your Caribbean.
We don't want to be. You need to come to Fiji and experience Fiji for what it is.
Because, like I always say, “Fiji, once discovered, is never forgotten.”
