What's on the menu? : how the cuisine of large-scale, upmarket tourist resorts shapes agricultural development in Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
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Date
2019
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Massey University
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Abstract
Tourism is an economic backbone for many developing countries, especially small island
development states (SIDS). Nevertheless, scholars have argued that tourism is a globalising
and, potentially, colonising force that may not be a sustainable path for the economic
and cultural development of such countries. Even though international tourist numbers
are growing, economic leakages are high in developing countries. This is partly due to a
significant share of food being imported for tourists, despite local food production. Research
on the impediments of agriculture-tourism linkages in developing countries has so
far taken mostly an economistic approach, finding a variety of supply, demand, marketing
and policy related factors. To allow for a more holistic approach, this study takes a cultural
perspective and investigates how the cuisine of large-scale, upmarket tourist resorts
shapes agricultural development in SIDS, such as Fiji. Sahlins’ (1992) theory of cultural
change is combined with the corporate community development framework (Banks,
Scheyvens, McLennan, & Bebbington, 2016) to explore the agency of Fijians in negotiating
the impact of Western-dominated tourism.
This study employed ethnographic methods in a case study approach during a four-month
field trip to Fiji. Participation and observation in a resort kitchen, field visits to other
resorts, farms and food intermediaries, 38 interviews as well as document analysis enabled
a rich representation of local viewpoints on food, culture and tourism. Large-scale
resorts present Fijian cuisine either in the form of tokenistic ‘island night shows’, or in
fusion concepts that cater to a few affluent guests. Fijian chefs rarely perceive their own
cuisine as valuable, due to decades of Western-dominated tourism. The use of local produce
is accordingly low and purposeful development of tourism-agriculture linkages is
rare. Farmers, on the other hand, recognise resorts as a valuable market. Nevertheless,
many Indo-Fijian farmers turn towards food exporters as a more reliable and predictable
business partner. Indigenous food producers engage only to a degree that they deem valuable
for their own socio-cultural needs and goals. Findings suggest that small-scale resorts,
catering to niche markets, might be more conducive to local integration and sustainable
tourism development. Policy-wise, developing the agricultural agenda of SIDS
to match the requirements of Western diets might have environmentally and socially detrimental
implications.
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Keywords
Tourism, Social aspects, Economic aspects, Resorts, Agriculture, Gastronomy, Fiji