Experience tourism has shifted from being solely about leisure to becoming a deeper, more purposeful journey. What once revolved around sightseeing and ticking off landmarks has evolved into immersive encounters with local culture, authentic activities, and meaningful connections. Today’s travelers aren’t just visiting—they’re seeking to live the destination. This evolution reflects the growing demand for personalized and authentic experiences that stray from mass tourism products. Tourists are looking for interaction with local communities, learning traditional skills, participating in local festivities, and understanding the cultural and historical context of the area.

The hospitality industry contributes to 3% of global carbon emissions, with hotel operations responsible for 1% and construction of new hotels accounting for the remaining 2% (UNTWO,2022). Additionally, the industry generates approximately 289,700 tons of waste annually, which include around 79,000 tons of food waste (Tostivint et al., 2016). As concerns over environmental impact and corporate responsibility grow, hotels globally are adopting multiple “green” initiatives aimed at reducing their carbon footprint, conserving resources, and improve community engagement.

Discover how Queenstown, Rotorua, and the luxury hotel segment are defying national trends and delivering standout results in an otherwise challenging May for New Zealand’s hotel sector.

The Fiji tourism market quickly returned to a position of strength following the opening of borders in late 2021. The key source market of Australia was quick to return, followed by North American and New Zealand markets. This drove improving occupancy and record ADR levels in 2023 and 2024. The future challenge for the Fiji market will be in ensuring growth in tourist accommodation supply and seeing a greater diversification of source markets to improve year-round performance and reduce seasonal travel fluctuations.

CORAL GABLES, Florida — Hotel Investment Today gathered leading hotel and finance executives for an exclusive April 30, 2025, roundtable here to discuss the current and future state of the extended-stay sector. Their takeaway: Extended stay has “a lot of expanding upside”. Extended-stay experts say expanding investor interest, evolving growth options at different price points and increasing lender buy-in signal a bright outlook for the industry’s “most lucrative business model.”