ABSTRACT
Through the lens of resilience thinking, this chapter responds to backpacker tourism as a form of disruption in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji. It offers new insights to support Fijian communities, particularly those of Nacula Island as they adapt to changes brought to bear on their livelihoods through planned government strategies. The discussion draws on the extant literature and particularly findings of a mixed methods research project conducted in 2011. A trilogy of sustainability indicators (economic, socio-cultural, and environmental) are critically reviewed against three measures of resilience thinking: encourage learning; manage slow variables and feedback; and, broaden participation. This approach can support the Fiji government in their next phase of tourism destination planning and policy. Shifting local and national strategic thinking beyond economic imperatives is crucial for core Fijian values of indigenous culture and pristine environments to be considered as equals necessary in a balanced social-ecological system. The Yasawa Islands and islanders are not yet lost to non-sustainable tourism development brought on through unintended consequence of a sustainability intervention but the equilibrium between environment, culture, and economics must be restored to strengthen islander resilience against further internal and external shocks.
