Democratic transition of power and its implications on tourism growth: Insights from Fiji’s 2022 General Election
Authors: Amare Wondirad (Email: amare.wondirad@eahm.ae), Pal Ahluwalia, Marika Kuilamu and Marcia Stephens
Abstract
Tourism, politics, and peace are inextricably linked. As a fragile and sensitive sector, tourism requires peace, stability, safety, and security to thrive. Prior research highlights the necessity of destination safety and security for visitor flows compared to other destination attributes. Among the various triggering factors of political turmoil and instability in developing countries, elections are at the forefront. Developing countries particularly face the challenge of a smooth transition of power in the aftermath of elections. In this respect, Fiji’s 2022 general election will go down in history as the first democratic transition of power since its independence in 1970. In this study, we examine the implications of Fiji’s first ever peaceful power transition for its tourism growth. Research findings reveal that the democratic transfer of power contributes significantly to Fiji’s tourism development by boosting both investors and visitors’ confidence, improving international image, and increasing tourists’ perceptions of safety and security within the country. The study developed a model that has substantial predictive power with an R2 value of 0.746 and substantially enriches the existing body of knowledge by highlighting the critical role of peace and security in fostering the growth and development of tourism.
Keywords: Election and Democratic Power Transfer; Fiji Islands; Future Tourism Development; International Image; Investors and Visitors’ Confidence; Tourism and Peace
