Jacinta Lal believes in building solid national, regional, and international partnerships to build prosperous economies. The Director of Tourism at the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport in Fiji shared that she became more interested in sustainable tourism when she began to travel around Fiji.

She mentioned that as a sector, tourism has the power to create jobs, support communities, and bring people together.

“The sustainable impact tourism can have in the smallest ways was very motivating. I would visit tourism hotspots in Fiji, but when I would visit Labasa or Levuka, where my grandparents are from, I would often wonder, how can these less popular places become hotspots so that my families too benefit,” she said.

“Aside from being an enthusiastic traveler, I enjoy working in tourism because I believe in its power to bring change. And to be part of that change and make a difference is worth pursuing.”

Currently, Ms. Lal is involved in two national projects regarding sustainable tourism.

The first being in the development of Fiji’s National Sustainable Tourism Framework. The strategy will lay out a clear policy direction of where they would want to see the Fijian tourism industry in the longer term. It will also draw inspiration from the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework.

The second is community engagement to promote inclusive, community-based tourism. The Ministry of Tourism is currently engaging with communities to develop potential tourism products. This includes providing them with technical support and linking them to access financing opportunities through Government programmes.

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