Fiji's bold new era: what's changing in the island nation you love most

Every time I fly into Fiji, it's like something in my heart settles. After more than 10 trips over the past two decades, stepping from the plane into Fiji's thick tropical humidity always feels grounding - like I'm coming back to where I belong. People tend to book their first trip to Fiji for the promise of sunshine, palm trees, azure waters and lazy cocktails by the pool. Yet, they come back for people, the change of pace, the relaxed atmosphere and the sheer ease of travelling here.

And it's this ease that draws Australians back time and time again; Australians make up about 50 per cent of all visitor arrivals to the region, with visitor numbers to the island group growing year on year.

Arguably, it's one of the easiest international destinations to get to: direct flights from the east coast of Australia take about four to five hours, with multiple departures daily from state capital cities, as well as Canberra and Cairns.

For families with kids, Fiji remains a no-brainer: with an incredible kids' club culture - an inclusive, family-centric environment where kids are adored and cared for like family. But what has always appealed about Fiji is the breadth of experiences catering to all types of travellers.

There's a place for everyone, from honeymooners after an adults-only experience to adventure seekers; from those who want an authentic cultural experience to divers keen to see some of the world's last great pristine reefs. And for holidaymakers who just want a really, really good cocktail, there are ample places.

There are more reasons than ever to visit Fiji for the first time - or to come back for another look: incredible new resorts and inspiring renovations, innovative wellness opportunities driven by locally sourced products, new cultural tours and adventure experiences that will bring you closer than ever to local communities, and a transformation of the food scene, all of which is underpinned by the growing senses of custodianship and sustainability.

One of the biggest transformations has taken place in Wailoaloa, which is located just by the airport on the shores of Nadi Bay. What was once a small strip of three-star hotels and beach bars popular with backpackers, locals and expats has had a significant transformation. The catalyst? The new five-star Crowne Plaza Hotel.

With 324 rooms, it's one of the few hotels in Fiji that doesn't just let the palm trees and blue tropical water do the heavy lifting. The interior design and fit-out of the new hotel is stunning, with some rooms offering direct pool access and a bevy of dining and bar options, including La Bottega, its signature Italian fine-dining restaurant, and the Euro-style Urban Sugar Beach Club on the edge of Nadi Bay (the current "it" spot for sundowners in Nadi).

It's the first of several new developments to open. In 2026, a new 258-room Rydges resort will open in Wailoaloa; a series of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will open at Nuku LoaLoa, and a few minutes down the beach, the Radisson Blu Mirage resort is also set to open on Naisoso Island.

Complementing the resorts are several smaller operators based in Wailoaloa, including Go Dirty Fiji, which offers ATV tours around the countryside; Bicycle Fiji, which offers bike and e-bike tours; and Vavavi Cooking and Cultural Experience, a traditional family-run lovo experience that includes a visit to the local market. fijinadibay.crowneplaza.com; godirtytoursfiji.com; bicyclefj.com; vavavifiji.com

While many resorts offer a Fijian cultural dinner, a traditional lovo experience shouldn't be missed. Cooked in an earthen oven using coals, meat, fish and traditional root crops are wrapped and covered in hot coals, before being dug up and shared among family, friends and community.

Fiji's food scene has expanded significantly, with a number of new elevated dining options available. At LikuLiku Lagoon Resort, the new concept dining restaurant Saluwaki has opened, showcasing Fijian-inspired Asian tapas with ingredients sourced from the resort's gardens and surrounding waters. With seating for just 28 guests and an open-kitchen design, Saluwaki features a tasting menu that includes dishes like ember-roasted green bamboo Walu with young coconut, dashi, tomato sambal and loroco buds; and steamed zucchini blossoms with pumpkin, roasted buckwheat, puffed black rice and pumpkin nectar. Each dish is paired with curated cocktails and cellar wines.

Meanwhile, the Sofitel on Denarau Island has opened Koko, a 24-seat seaside dining restaurant open only for dinner and for guests older than 14. It serves authentic Fijian cuisine: think dishes like banana-leaf-wrapped pork with local spinach, shaved coconut, watermelon, pineapple, coconut pearls, vudo chips and roasted apple dressing, alongside upscale versions of traditional dishes like palusame and kokoda. likulikulagoon.com; sofitel-fiji.com

Wellness has always been a special part of Fijian culture. At most resorts, the signature massage is the "bobo" massage, a traditional, therapeutic style passed down from generation to generation. Using deep pressure, it involves kneading to relieve muscle pressure and increase circulation, and is one of the key treatments at the new Lomani Spa at the adults-only Lomani Island Resort on Plantation Island. The purpose-built wellness centre includes six treatment rooms with a cold plunge pool using NAMA Fiji products.

NAMA Fiji has been one of Fiji's more successful beauty and wellness exports, made with the namesake sea grapes that famously grow in the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands. Known as thalassotherapy, the skincare range uses sea minerals and is the spa treatment of choice at most premium Fijian spas, with the founder set to offer wellness retreats in early 2026.

If you'd like to experiment for yourself, guests at Six Senses Fiji can sign up for a session at the all-new Alchemy Bar. Using ingredients including traditional Fijian medicinal plants collected fresh from the resort's tropical gardens, as well as organic ingredients from the lab including essential oils, upcycled coffee grounds and honey from the resort's hives, to create their own personalised body scrub, aloe vera gel or face mask.

And while everyone knows how good a dip in the ocean is for your skin, there's also a secret sauce in Fiji's soil that makes for an incredible spa experience: the volcanic mud noted for its rich mineral properties. While the Sabeto hot springs and mud pools, a short way out of Nadi, are well known, a new series of mud pools has opened up in Savusavu.

A short flight from Fiji's main island, Savusavu is home to a series of resorts, including Koro Sun, located by the water on 65 hectares of old-growth rainforest and an onsite waterfall. There, the latest innovation is the Rainforest Spa, where new treatment rooms along the waterfall and stream, include an open-air waterfall room, a rainforest pole house elevated in the treetops and, at the base of the cascades, a series of Stone Garden therapy rooms. lomaniisland.com; namafiji.com.au; sixsenses.com; korosunresort.com

While Fiji is beautiful, it's also fragile: susceptible to climate change, the impact of tourism and the exploitation of its incredible marine environment due to overfishing.

The biggest news on Savusavu, however, is the establishment of the new Waivunia Marine Park on the shores of Koro Sun Resort. Championed by the Naivuatolu clan with the support of Koro Sun and Dive Savu Savu, the eight-year effort to create the Marine Park has resulted in the clan successfully attaining a lease from the Fijian government to preserve the reef and marine biodiversity. Open in April 2025, it's a successful example of the growing sense of partnership and stewardship being forged between local communities and the tourism industry.

And with such an incredible environment to protect, one of the greatest initiatives has been the establishment of Loloma hour. More than 23 resorts now participate in the initiative, created by Tourism Fiji and pitched as a "happy hour for the environment". As part of the initiative, guests are encouraged to give one hour of their time to an onsite conservation project at their hotel,

For example, at Sau Bay Resort & Spa, guests can use complimentary dive tanks to help support its Crown of Thorns Starfish Eradication program, which aims to reduce the impact of this invasive coral-eating species. On Likuliku Lagoon Resort and Malolo Island Resort, more than 10,000 trees and mangroves have been planted by guests to help protect the coastline and support biodiversity, including the resort's critically endangered Fiji crested iguana. The Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa has a novel approach to beach clean-up with their Loloma hour, running a "litter for lattes" program each Saturday for locals and guests: each full litter bag is exchanged for a complimentary coffee or drink voucher (something sure to motivate any Australian coffee lover). fiji.travel/loloma-hour; fijidiveresort.net; likulikulagoon.com; fiji.intercontinental.com

Most visitors to Fiji cluster in two provinces around the Coral Coast, the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands, but with more than 333 islands, there's so much more to explore beyond the beaten track and the resort-centric package deals Fiji is often known for. One of the best initiatives is run by the Duavata Sustainable Tourism Collective, a group of small owner-operators from across Fiji, who are championing travel that is sustainable, environmentally sensitive and different: from multi-day trekking across the highlands, to beach resorts on remote islands like Leleuvia in the Lomaiviti Group, eco-retreats in the hills north of Suva and even a chocolate plantation on Savusavu.

Savusavu has also grown in status thanks to the arrival of the new Nawi Marina. Fiji has long been a favourite port for sailors crossing the Pacific. The new marine complex has 132 berths, including six dedicated superyacht berths, and is home to two restaurants, a supermarket, a brand-new spa offering massages and a new pool club.

Savusavu is popular for its incredible reef systems, ice-cold waterfalls and genuine, local encounters, but it's just one place of many where tourists can get off the beaten track. This includes Taveuni, known as the "garden island", and Kadavu, where the main attraction is Fiji's grand Astrolabe Reef, one of the world's largest barrier reef systems, with more than 60 uncrowded, pristine dive sites including drift dives, swim-throughs and the possibility of seeing manta rays.

Even if you are staying around the main areas, there are ways your tourism dollars can support remote communities. Local not-for-profit Rise Beyond the Reef supports women in remote rural communities by selling a mix of stylish homewares and retail items, from hand-woven rugs to bags and children's toys. The goods are manufactured in remote communities from across Fiji's archipelago that rarely see income from tourism, and are sold from Rise Beyond the Reef's retail outlet in Nadi's backhills (near the Garden of the Sleeping Giant), at major retail outlets at resorts and at the airport, as well as shipping globally from their online store. duavatasustainabletourism.org; nawiisland.com; risebeyondthereef.org