Come and visit our booth, meet the team, and learn more about the Fiji Tourism Development Program in Vanua Levu, particularly our MSME Support Program and what it means for tourism MSMEs and community-based tourism operators across Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
Whether you are a small business owner, tourism operator, community representative or simply interested in what’s happening under Na Vualiku — we’d love to meet you.
Come by, say hello, and have a chat with us today.
Why Targeted Support for MSMEs is the Key to Sustainable Tourism in the North
The true driving force of tourism in Vanua Levu and Taveuni lies in the resourcefulness of our local entrepreneurs: our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the craftship of our women’s cultural enterprises, and the shared custodianship and stewardship of our community-based tourism (CBT) communities.
These innovators already possess the talent, vision, and cultural heritage that make the Northern Division unforgettable. However, scaling an enterprise comes with distinct structural challenges. Even the most driven business owners encounter hurdles when trying to fund infrastructure upgrades, master complex regulatory compliance, or break into competitive digital marketplaces.
The Na Vualiku Project’s MSME and CBT Support Program was designed to address these exact gaps; not by changing the core of these businesses, but by providing the resources and expertise they need to scale on their own terms.
MSMEs, women’s cultural enterprises, and CBT operators across Vanua Levu and Taveuni could apply for targeted training and funding for small-scale infrastructure for selected CBT operators under the Na Vualiku MSME and CBT Support Program. It aims to strengthen local tourism businesses, improve visitor experiences, and ensure that tourism growth delivers direct benefits to communities at the grassroots level.
Through the Program, MSMEs, women’s cultural enterprises, and CBT operators will access capacity-building support covering business registration and regulatory compliance, financial literacy and record-keeping, marketing and digital promotion, tourism quality standards, and business readiness for financing and investment.
Following the official launch of the program in December 2025, by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon. Viliame Gavoka, local operators across Labasa, Savusavu, and Taveuni responded with immense enthusiasm. This groundswell of local interest culminated in a highly successful application window closing on February 13, 2026.
Strong Demand for MSME Support Program Out of a total of 315 applications received under the MSME and Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Support Program, around 30% were for the Community-Based Tourism Grant component, while about 70% were for the Capacity Building component.
The strong response reflects the deep interest and demand among local businesses, women-led enterprises, and community-based tourism operators who participated in outreach sessions and completed the application process. It also points to a clear need for both community-based tourism support and broader business development assistance to improve products, services, systems, and market readiness. As our teams travel across the North for field visits this month, we are focusing on how the Program’s two core components work together to unlock this local potential:
🛠️ Unleashing Potential: CBT Infrastructure Upgrades Great visitor experiences require functional, sustainable spaces. Through the capital grant component of the MSME and CBT Support Program, selected community-owned enterprises will be supported to upgrade their physical properties. From developing low-impact eco-trails and clear signage to installing renewable energy solutions and modern waste management facilities, such structural enhancements would allow communities to welcome visitors safely while protecting their natural resources.
📊 Sharpening the Operational Edge: Strategy & Capacity Building In tandem with infrastructure, local business owners are continually refining their management systems. By working one-on-one with specialized Business Development Service (BDS) advisors through our program, selected entrepreneurs would master practical tools for long-term success. Such hands-on mentorship will cover everything from financial record-keeping and strategic pricing to digital promotion and investment readiness.
The Broader Impact: Grassroots Self-Reliance When local businesses are equipped with the right infrastructure and strategic tools, the entire northern tourism model permanently shifts from a top-down industry into a grassroots movement. True sustainability cannot be bought or imported; it is forged by keeping local ownership and local hands at the absolute center of economic growth. As DPM Gavoka emphasized during the initial December roll-out, “Tourism thrives when our communities thrive.”
Responding to the overwhelming demand, the Na Vualiku Project is doing more than just supporting local businesses; we are helping create pathways to anchor economic benefits of tourism directly within the villages, families, and valleys of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Empowering these local creators ensures that the growth of the North remains self-reliant, resilient, and proudly driven by the very people who make the “Friendly North” extraordinary.
📍Across #VanuaLevu and #Taveuni, communities are working hard to grow their community-based tourism products and experiences so that they are locally led, culturally grounded, and connected to real opportunities for families, villages, and MSMEs.
As part of our #MSME and Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Support Program’s screening and assessment process, the Na Vualiku Project team has begun visiting shortlisted applicants under the CBT Grant component.
These visits are helping the team meet the people behind the applications, understand their tourism activities, assess their readiness, and identify the type of support that could help them strengthen infrastructure and services, enhance visitor experiences, build resilience, and create more value for their communities and the wider tourism industry in the North. 🤝🌿
Ninety five applications were received under the Na Vualiku CBT Program, showing strong interest from communities wanting to participate more meaningfully in the North’s tourism growth.
These site visits do not confirm final selection. They form part of the due diligence process to assess eligibility, readiness, the type of support required, and to identify eligible beneficiaries for CBT grant assistance.
Shortlisted applicants have been contacted directly from the Project team.
Through the Fiji Tourism Development Program in Vanua Levu, the Na Vualiku Project aims to support #communitybasedtourism operators, #MSMEs, and #womenledenterprises to build stronger businesses, improve livelihoods, and contribute to tourism development that delivers broader benefits for families, communities, and the local economy.
How can tourism development protect natural assets, support climate action and create long-term benefits for local communities?
The Fiji Tourism Development Program in Vanua Levu, also known as the Na Vualiku Project, is supporting a more integrated approach to sustainable tourism development in the country’s northern region.
This World Environment Day, the global theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future,” closely reflects the direction of the Program’s work across Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
Through consultations and planning discussions, communities and stakeholders have consistently highlighted the importance of a tourism future that protects the environment, maintains cultural authenticity and delivers real benefits for local people. This message is central to the Program’s approach.
Inspired by Nature
Vanua Levu and Taveuni’s tourism potential is closely linked to the natural and cultural assets that define the destination. Forests, rivers, reefs, coastlines, cultural sites, towns and community landscapes all contribute to the visitor experience and the wellbeing of local communities.
Through the Integrated Tourism Master Plan, the Program is supporting long-term destination planning that recognises these assets as the foundation for sustainable tourism growth. The Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment is helping identify environmental and social risks early, so future development can be better informed by climate, community and environmental considerations.
For Climate
Climate action is reflected in the way energy, waste, infrastructure and services are planned and delivered.
The Program is exploring solar energy opportunities for selected public sites in Labasa and Savusavu, including high-use public infrastructure. Renewable energy is a practical example of climate action and can support cleaner energy use, stronger essential services and more resilient public infrastructure over time.
The Program is also supporting improved solid waste management planning for the Northern Division. This work is important for cleaner towns, healthier communities, protected natural assets and destination readiness. In parallel, work on infrastructure, cityscape planning, airport planning, road resilience and sanitation is helping strengthen the systems that sustainable tourism depends on.
For Our Future
Sustainable tourism must create opportunities for people. Through support for micro, small and medium enterprises and community-based tourism, the Program is helping strengthen local participation in tourism development.
This matters because climate resilience is also economic resilience. When communities have stronger local enterprises, better services, improved infrastructure and a healthier environment, they are better positioned to benefit from tourism growth and manage future risks.
On World Environment Day, the Na Vualiku Project recognises that the environment is not separate from development. It is the foundation for long-term tourism growth, community wellbeing and climate resilience.
By linking destination planning, environmental and social assessment, renewable energy, waste management, resilient infrastructure and local enterprise support, the Fiji Tourism Development Program in Vanua Levu is helping support a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient tourism future for Fiji’s northern region.
Initiatives such as Drawa’s community-led eco-retreat show the potential of Vanua Levu’s untapped #tourism opportunities, where culture, conservation, and local livelihoods can grow together.
The Na Vualiku Project is working to strengthen sustainable tourism models across Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Our focus is protecting the environment, empowering communities, and building long-term resilience through sustainable tourism development.
Congratulations to the people of Drawa on this important milestone, with the eco-retreat officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon. V@iliame Gavoka.
Communities are clear: tourism must grow in a way that protects people, land, and livelihoods.
More than 120 stakeholders across Labasa, Bua, Savusavu, and Taveuni have validated key findings of the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA), highlighting the need to actively manage environmental and social risks as tourism grows.
The SESA is informing tourism development to help protect communities, land, and livelihoods, while ensuring risks are identified early and addressed through planning.
Integrated Tourism Master Plan (ITMP): Planning for Sustainable Tourism Growth in Vanua Levu and Taveuni
Following the wide consultations held last year, the ITMP team carried out further community engagements across Macuata earlier this year.
Consultations were well attended, with strong representation from community leaders, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Communities are now better informed of the project objectives and phases.
The team noted strong buy-in and ownership, alongside the need to balance tourism opportunities with protecting and preserving natural as well as cultural assets since cultural tourism options are being explored.
Cultural mapping was used during these sessions to systematically document both tangible and intangible cultural assets, including sites of significance, stories, traditions, and traditional knowledge, as well as potential opportunities for kayaking, surfing, trekking, eco-tourism and backpacker sites.
These sessions generated valuable conversations and inputs. In Nadogo District, for example, Kavewa Island Eco Sanctuary has already mapped sites including a turtle nesting site, a Lapita pottery site, and a locally managed marine area. Such information will help strengthen planning, responsible development, and heritage conservation through the ITMP process.
Strengthening partnerships with community leadership is essential to ensuring tourism development reflects local priorities.
The Na Vualiku Project Local Project Coordinator, Mr. Sara Bulutani, recently engaged with members of the Tikina Nasavusavu Council to discuss key initiatives under the Fiji Tourism Development Program in Vanua Levu and to hear directly from community leaders on priorities shaping the future of tourism in the Northern Division.
Discussions included the MSME & Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Capacity Building and Grant Program, the application deadline for which closed on 13 February 2026.
The program, designed to strengthen tourism micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and community-based tourism operators across Vanua Levu and Taveuni, will help with improving business skills, strengthening services, and helping local operators better connect to the tourism market. This in turn will support local enterprise development, create more jobs, and encourage greater participation of communities in the tourism economy.
Several communities had submitted applications and welcomed the opportunity to receive an update on the program and what to expect next.
The engagement also opened discussion on waste management solutions, an important part of ensuring tourism growth is managed sustainably. Council members were invited to help identify suitable land that could be assessed as part of upcoming waste management feasibility studies, helping ensure solutions are practical, community-supported, and aligned with local priorities.
These engagements are essential to ensuring that tourism planning and investments under the Na Vualiku Project are grounded in community voices and local leadership.
🌿 Tourism growth must protect what matters most to communities. That is why the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment is critical in helping ensure that future tourism development safeguards land, livelihoods, culture, and the natural environment, while supporting sustainable economic opportunities.
📍 Following extensive engagement last year, the Na Vualiku Project recently reconvened stakeholders in Labasa, Nabouwalu, Savusavu, and Taveuni to present the results of the assessment and invite feedback to help validate and strengthen the findings.
🤝 These sessions brought together a range of stakeholders, including community representatives and private sector participants such as tourism MSMEs and community-based tourism operators, to review key insights and share perspectives on environmental and social priorities that should guide tourism planning across Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
📝 The feedback gathered will help refine the final recommendations and inform the Integrated Tourism Master Plan, ensuring that future tourism investments reflect community priorities and strong environmental and social safeguards.
🌏 Through engagements like these, the Na Vualiku Project continues to ensure that tourism planning for the Northern Division is shaped by community voices and local knowledge.
Feature image: The Great White Wall, located on Fiji’s Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo Strait, is a world-renowned dive site famous for its vertical drop-off covered in luminous white soft corals (Dendronephthya). Photo: Taveuni Tourism Association
