Media Release — For Immediate Release

Nadi, Fiji     23 September 2026     Accessible Fiji

The Rosie Travel Group, with Australia’s Market Development Facility and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, launches Fiji’s first accessible and inclusive travel training — opening Fiji to this lucrative traveller that would have never chosen Fiji.

NADI, FIJI — Wednesday 23rd September 2026 — Fiji is opening its arms wider than ever before. This week, the nation’s tourism industry gathers at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi for the country’s first ever Accessible & Inclusive Travel Training Workshop — a landmark step that sets Fiji on course to become the most welcoming destination in the Pacific for travellers of every age and every ability.

Held from 23rd to 25th September 2026 and delivered by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), with the support of Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF), the workshop marks the moment Fiji’s warm welcome becomes a welcome without limits — extended, deliberately and to international standard, to every guest who dreams of these islands.

A market that Fiji needs to invest in

Around the world, hundreds of millions of people travel with accessibility needs — whether through disability, age, or the families and friends who travel with them. It is one of the fastest-growing and most loyal segments in tourism, yet one of the least served. In Fiji’s core markets alone, accessible tourism generated a record AUD 29.2 billion in expenditure across 70.5 million trips in 2024 (Tourism Research Australia). Driven by an ageing population and multi-generational travel, these travellers are already arriving — and they return, again and again, to the destinations that are ready for them. International outbound accessible travel from Australia in 2025 was over AUD 10 billion.

Fiji is uniquely placed to be that destination. Its proximity to Australia and New Zealand, its world-renowned hospitality, and the natural Fijian instinct to care for others make inclusion not a burden to bear but a promise to keep. What the industry has needed is the knowledge to deliver it to a world-class standard — and that is exactly what this initiative provides.

From a warm welcome to a world-class one

At the heart of the effort is AccessibleFiji.com, the Rosie Travel Group’s dedicated platform helping travellers of all abilities discover, plan and book inclusive experiences across Fiji, while supporting the industry to raise its accessibility standards. The workshop equips frontline professionals — from the airport and the airline gate to the resort and the tour — with practical, internationally recognised skills, and graduates them as a new cohort of Accessible Fiji Ambassadors.

Crucially, the programme builds capability that lasts. Following the workshop, Rosie Academy Trainers will become GSTC-certified, enabling Fiji to deliver accredited accessible-tourism training itself — a decisive step on the pathway to becoming a GSTC certifying body for the wider Pacific. This is not a one-off event; it is the foundation of a movement.

For the Rosie Travel Group, the initiative is both a national priority and a natural continuation of the market development it has led for half a century. Group General Manager Eroni Puamau said accessible and inclusive travel is the next frontier for Fiji — and for Rosie.

“For over fifty years, the Rosie Travel Group has grown by seeing opportunity where others see barriers — opening new markets and raising the bar for what Fiji can offer the world. Accessible and inclusive travel is the next of those frontiers, and one of the most important. A large, loyal and underserved market of travellers has simply never been able to choose Fiji, and through AccessibleFiji.com we are deliberately, and properly, changing that. This is innovative market development of exactly the kind Rosie has been renowned for since 1974 — and it is critical for Fiji: when we build a destination that welcomes every traveller, regardless of age or ability, we make our tourism industry more competitive, more resilient, and more true to who we are as a people.”

Eroni Puamau
Group General Manager, Rosie Travel Group

What the key partners say

“I welcome the partnership between the Rosie Travel Group and Australia’s Market Development Facility, and the role of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in bringing world-class training to our shores. Investing in our people is how we secure the long-term strength of Fiji’s tourism industry. My Ministry is pleased to support this programme.”

Hon. Viliame Gavoka
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation

“As Fiji’s national carrier and a proud ambassador of the Fijian spirit to the world, our commitment to accessibility runs from the aircraft to the way we train our people. The accessible travel market is growing across our source markets, and equipping our frontline with world-class, GSTC-accredited skills is how we make sure every traveller can move through Fiji with confidence and dignity. We’re proud to stand with AccessibleFiji.com and the Rosie Travel Group on this ongoing journey.”

Paul Scurrah
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Airways

“Our vision is to be a world-class aviation hub for the Blue Pacific and providing an airport experience that is accessible and inclusive is an important part of that journey. Through initiatives such as accessibility assessments, staff development and industry collaboration, we are continuing to strengthen our understanding and capability to better support travellers of all abilities. Fiji Airports is pleased to work alongside AccessibleFiji.com and Rosie Travel Group in advancing this important area of destination development for Fiji.”

Mesake Nawari
Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Airports Limited

“From large resorts to family-owned operations, our members share one goal: to deliver an experience worthy of Fiji. An accessible and inclusive product strengthens that experience for everyone and widens the market for all. The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association is proud to partner with AccessibleFiji.com and the Rosie Travel Group to help build and improve this capability across our industry.”

Fantasha Lockington
Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association

“It is encouraging to see Destination Fiji, AccessibleFiji.com, and the Rosie Travel Group working together to build the skills and understanding needed to embed accessibility into the visitor experience. Initiatives like this help strengthen local capacity, support continuous improvement, leading towards a more inclusive tourism across the Pacific. Our sincere congratulations!”

Randy Durband
Chief Executive Officer, Global Sustainable Tourism Council

“Australia’s Market Development Facility supports good business that does good, and accessible tourism is exactly that. By opening Fiji to a large and underserved market, this initiative creates new revenue for operators and new jobs for Fijians, while advancing disability inclusion across the sector. MDF is proud to support AccessibleFiji.com and the Rosie Travel Group in building a more inclusive and competitive tourism industry.”

Kelera Cavuilati
Fiji Country Director, Market Development Facility (MDF)

The initiative has drawn strong support from across Fiji’s tourism industry, including all the leading hotel brands that have invested in accessible facilities, supported by the Fiji Hotel & Tourism Association, our national carrier Fiji Airways and also our airport gateway partner Fiji Airports Limited — a united front behind a single ambition: a Fiji that welcomes all.

For the global travel trade: sell a Fiji that welcomes everyone

For agents and operators specialising in accessible travel, Fiji is now open for business in a way it has never been before. Through AccessibleFiji.com and the Rosie Travel Group, trade partners can access:

Trade partners wishing to sell AccessibleFiji.com — or to list and promote accessible product — are warmly invited to connect via AccessibleFiji.com or the trade contact below.

The invitation of a lifetime — for everyone

Every traveller carries a dream of somewhere like Fiji: the warmth of the water, the warmth of the welcome. For too long, that dream has been out of reach for millions who needed only a little more thought, a little more care, to make it real. Fiji is choosing to be the place that offers it — and in doing so, is showing the Pacific, and the world, what it truly means to welcome everyone.

— End of release —