President of Warwick International Hotels, Mr Richard Chiu delivers his speech during the 30th anniversary celebration of Warwick Fiji Resort, Coral Coast, 12 December 2009
26-Dec-2009

Honorable Prime Minister of Fiji, Honorable Prime Minister of Tonga, Honorable Minister for Internal Affairs of Vanuatu, Honorable Minister for Commerce, Industry & Labor of Samoa, Senior Government Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, Your excellencies The High Commissioners, Ambassadors and Diplomats, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

When I was writing this speech this afternoon I was going to thank all those guests who came from Suva having brought the rain with them, but as you can see everything suddenly changed late this afternoon when the sun came out. It must be a lucky omen. When I think back some 30 years ago when I first came to these beautiful Fiji Islands I was certainly lucky to have been able to add this resort to our then young and growing company. Alas, I can not claim to be young anymore but I believe the development of the Warwick Hotels in the South Pacific has yet to blossom. Today we are present in Fiji, in Vanuatu and soon in Tahiti. Shortly we shall be commencing construction in Samoa and there after in Tonga. We also have plans to build a third resort along the coral coast which will include a 9 hole golf course. By 2012 we shall be operating more than 1200 rooms in the South Pacific.

As this is our 30th Anniversary in Fiji and the South Pacific, perhaps it’s appropriate to look back rather than to look forward. In doing so, I must say our proudest achievement has been the mutual respect we have developed with the people who have worked and continue to work in our resorts. Not only do we have a long and caring relationship with them, but we have also played a role in the development of most if not all the villages along the coral coast. In the Naviti village for example, we have constructed a sea wall to protect the village from soil erosion, we have built a church, a community hall and we have built a piping system which delivers to the village clean and fresh water. Over the years we have also provided educational grants to promising students and have sent some of them overseas. Our resorts in Fiji have probably the most loyal staff in the country. Over 25% of 400 people who work in this resort have been with us for more than 15 years and 12 of them more than 30. It will be our great pleasure to introduce to you later the three longest serving employees; each of them had started with us in November 1979. The other side of this coin of loyalty is our happy clients; both the Naviti and Warwick Resorts boast very high return rates. Over 15% of our guests have been here twice and there is one client who has come to The Warwick Resort every year for the last 25 years except one when she was persuaded by her young daughters to go to Cairns, for which she has yet to forgiven them.

Over the years I have also had the good fortune to have made so many friends in Fiji and the South Pacific. Your kindness and support have been instrumental in our continuing presence in this charming part of the world. Let me once again thank you for coming and sharing with us this very special occasion. We now look forward with you to the next thirty years.

Thank you