Abstract
Like most SIDS, Fiji’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and as elsewhere in the Pacific, this collapsed after COVID-19, as in Vatuolalai village, on the Coral Coast. Villagers had previously responded to such shocks as military coups and severe weather events, alongside the seasonality of tourism. Few studies have examined the longitudinal changes experienced by indigenous Fijian communities in responding to the perturbations and volatility of tourism. Ethnographic experience and systems theory demonstrate how the Fijian cultural system contributed to resilience, with response to COVID-19 being marked by return migration to villages, greater focus on agriculture and fishing, revitalisation of village government and church services, and reconsideration of the extent of dependence on tourism. Future development is likely to be more diversified.
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