“Our Bula Smile Never Fades” – 1 Year Anniversary of Borders Reopening
2022. A year to remember, a year to celebrate, and a year to reflect. A year of excitement and relief, mixed in with trepidation, overcoming, enduring and growing into a new sense of gratitude, hope and appreciation.
It Wasn’t All Smooth Sailing
Fiji’s much anticipated re-opening in December 2021 came with unprecedented challenges for the whole country, with the tourism industry bearing the brunt of the upheaval necessitated by extensive health and safety requirements.
Our very first guests in those days (or should I say brave pioneers in the world of post-covid travel!), experienced the ups and downs as we all navigated our way through very bumpy waters to a more stable, calm and familiar world as restrictions dropped one by one, slowly returning the confidence of guests and businesses alike.
The re-opening was undertaken with a mixture of caution and fanfare, with the doors being beaten down by the barrage of pent-up demand from travellers who had been so eagerly awaiting this moment. Guests who had been patiently holding bookings for up to 2 years, were welcomed alongside many others bursting with eagerness and anticipation to go somewhere, anywhere, to shake off the shackles of the pandemic, all contributing to one of the greatest industry revivals, for better or worse, that the world has ever seen.
Our Year In Review
To say it was a busy time would be an understatement, yet there was certainly no sitting back on our laurels, with some incredible projects completed around the resort in our pursuit to continuously better the guest experience.
A Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award
Two new villas
New staff with incredible talent and enthusiasm
A new spa and wellness facility
A thriving organic vegetable garden
Press in the The Wall Street Journal and Forbes
New exclusive dining offered at our Beach Point Bure
New activities including river tubing and mud bathing
Soft refurbishment throughout the resort
But by far the greatest satisfaction and delight was to see the resort alive again, with staff working, smiling faces of guests from around the world, and for the whole country to be ‘back in business’ after such uncertainty, vulnerability and fear. It has been nothing short of remarkable. It might all sound cliche, but as they say, team works makes the dream work, but in this case, it was a lot more. Teamwork meant the difference between surviving and thriving, making 2022 a chapter to go down in Savasi’s history books, and for all the right reasons.
A Chance To Reflect
We asked a few staff from our incredible team about their biggest challenges, and highlights from this year. Priti, who played a key role as our testing coordinator, says this aspect was by far the biggest challenge – dealing with test kit shortages, delays, logistical obstacles as well as communicating with guests around exact timing, and ensuring correct recording and documentation of results. Despite taking it all in her stride and doing an absolutely amazing job of it, she is glad this chapter has closed, and is grateful for the lessons and skills gained through these challenges.
Our beautiful Ma in Guest Services reflected that the greatest challenge was “no hug, no shake hands,” but added that “our Bula smile and spirit did not fade”. That sums it up better than we could!
“No hug, no shake hands – but our Bula smile did not fade.” – Ma
Thank you (Vinaka vakalevu) From Our Whole Team
We couldn’t have gotten through the past few years without the support of our guests, so we say vinaka vakalevu (thank you) for helping Savasi Island, and resorts Fiji wide, to get back on their feet and back to business – stronger than ever.