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Members of PSDI’s Economic Empowerment of Women and Sustainable Tourism teams were in Nadi, Fiji this week to present and discuss the findings of the Gender Audit Regional Synthesis Report at the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) Sustainable Tourism Workshop.

The event—which was attended by the SPTO board of directors, staff, and representatives from the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand—was designed to support the development of SPTO’s regional tourism gender action plan.

At the event, PSDI presented key findings from the gender audit, which was undertaken with ten SPTO member organizations and assessed how each organization incorporates gender considerations in its policies and programs. During the presentation, PSDI identified opportunities and methods to mainstream gender within the tourism sector.

“The gender audit project supports the ambitions of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework, particularly Goal 2, ‘Thriving and Inclusive Communities’. SPTO is very happy to be partnering with the Asian Development Bank’s (ADBs) Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) to progress gender mainstreaming within the tourism sector,” said Christine Gale, Sustainable Tourism Manager at SPTO.

Workshop attendees participated in guided activities aimed at identifying strategic actions to address each of the five priority areas that were identified at the SPTO’s Pacific Women in Tourism Talanoa in November 2024: (i) policies and strategies, (ii) leaders’ commitments, (iii) institutional commitments, (iv) goals and targets, and (v) data analysis and measurement. The actions identified during the event will be used to inform the development of SPTO’s regional tourism gender action plan.

“We acknowledge the good work SPTO and PSDI have been doing with the gender audit, with the findings presented. The tourism industry is not an easy space for women to work in, and it is important going forward on how we acknowledge the work women do both in the informal and formal sector,” said Adela Issachar Aru, board chair of SPTO and CEO of Vanuatu Tourism Office. 

Alcinda Trawen, PSDI’s Sustainable Tourism Analyst, presenting at the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) Sustainable Tourism Workshop. 

The Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) Sustainable Tourism Workshop was attended by SPTO board of directors and staff, as well as representatives from the Government of Australia, the Government of New Zealand, and the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative.