Ecotourism Australia Conference

Ratu Anthony Dovi
Director Oarsman’s Bay Lodge, Yasawas, Fiji
Director Fiji Backpackers Association, Fiji

Ratu Anthony Dovi was born in the Yasawas and is the second son of the paramount Chief of the Nacula area. He was educated in Fiji at the Queen Victoria School, and then went to work with Punja & Sons, Fiji's largest manufacturing and food distribution group.

Over twenty years with Punja's, he worked in sales, market research and public relations.

In 2003, he decided to devote the rest of his life to Tourism and the development of sustainable tourism opportunities for his people in the Yasawas. He plays an active role in the operations of Oarsman's Bay Lodge and the Fiji Backpackers Association. He is in the process of developing his own small resort in the Yasawas.

Ratu Anthony Dovi is also one of the founding members of the Western Disabled People's Association in Lautoka and its current President. He conducts workshops on disability prevention and awareness. He has also started an HIV/AIDS support group to encourage young Fijians to address the serious issues that AIDS presents to that country.

Ratu Anthony Dovi is a great believer in preserving traditional culture to motivate people to greater achievement. He teaches this to the younger generations, cautioning them to do away with tradition where it is negative to personal and community growth.

Development of Indigenous Employment Tourism Initiatives in Fiji - Advantages and Disadvantages

Ratu Dovi is an elder of the village of Nacula in the Yasawas, Fiji. The Yasawas was, until the 90's, off limits for tourism development. The communities up there were largely untouched by globalization. Then the tourists arrived.

Within the local Nacula area, there are fifteen or so resorts situated on four different islands, with employees being provided from seven different local villages. This employment has been liberating for many as job opportunities in the area are not common.

However, this influx of tourists has had a significant impact in other ways. It provides economic independence and therefore choices. However, it compromises some of the traditional aspects of village life and culture, and presents unique difficulties in a hierarchical social structure.

Ratu Dovi will speak of his experience as a Director of Oarsman's Bay Lodge, the most successful budget resort in the Yasawas. He is also a Director of the Fiji Backpackers' Association, and he will address some of the issues associated with indigenous ownership of resorts in the Yasawas.

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