DPM Gavoka opens the 2026 CIDESCO World Congress in Nadi, a first for the South Pacific

NADI, 29 August 2026 – The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon Viliame Gavoka, this morning opened the 2026 CIDESCO World Congress in Nadi, the first time the global beauty and spa therapy congress has been held in the South Pacific.

The Congress runs from 29 to 31 August 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort and Spa. It is hosted by Nama Fiji and its CIDESCO-accredited Spa Academy Fiji, and has drawn delegates from Fiji and abroad.

CIDESCO, the Comité International d’Esthétique et de Cosmétologie, is headquartered in Zurich and sets the international standard for professional beauty and spa therapy. Its members work in more than 56 countries, across more than 230 accredited schools, salons and spas on five continents. Mr Gavoka noted that the organisation, founded in 1946, turns 80 in 2026.

“For the first time in CIDESCO’s history, the Congress meets in the South Pacific, and it meets here, in Fiji,” Mr Gavoka told delegates. He said Fiji had accepted the responsibility of hosting in CIDESCO’s eightieth year with pride.

The Minister linked the Congress to Fiji’s tourism strategy, arguing that a world-standard certification gives Fijian-trained therapists a qualification recognised internationally. “Our warmth was never in question; today, it gains a global passport,” he said.

He said traveller demand had shifted towards experiences that restore visitors and connect them to a place, and that wellness had become part of how a destination is judged. A recognised certification, he said, tells visitors before they arrive that the care waiting for them in Fiji meets the standard of leading spas in Europe and Asia.

Mr Gavoka pointed to host Nama Fiji, whose skincare is made from nama gathered by hand on Fiji’s reefs, much of it by women in rural communities. He described the company’s “Sea to Skin” model, from reef to treatment room, as an example of tourism keeping value in Fiji. “This is how tourism should work for a small island nation: the value stays here, in our villages and with our people,” he said.

He said the Government treats wellness as part of the tourism economy rather than a marketing line, and set out what Fiji intends to build from the Congress: more Fijian therapists trained to the CIDESCO standard, more local spas and salons competing internationally, and young Fijians entering wellness as a profession.

The Minister thanked Ms Debra Sadranu and the teams at Nama Fiji and Spa Academy Fiji for the work behind the Congress, and acknowledged sponsors including Sothys Paris and Investment Fiji. He also recognised CIDESCO International President Ms Mary O’Donoghue and Executive Director Mr Gerard Gordon among those present.

He closed by declaring the Congress open. “It is my honour, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, to declare the 2026 CIDESCO World Congress officially open,” Mr Gavoka said.

Alongside the Congress, the programme includes CIDESCO competitions under the 2026 theme “Wellness from the Sea,” a careers expo and a gala dinner at the host venue.

– ENDS –