Gounder – Receive Lifetime Award
People who lead local business especially in the tourism sector should indeed be very proud of their achievements. This rings true for Tour Managers managing director Damend Gounder who was awarded the Life Time awards during the Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards 2022 at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa.
There are probably very few people in the industry who are not recognised after a lifetime in this industry.
Mr Gounder is the energy and drive behind a company that is continuing to bring new boundaries. “I stand here because of the team that had been with me for so long, especially the pandemic period,” he said.
“The company went through a difficult time like yours as well. I have maintained and continue to say thanks to my staff.”
Mr Gounder continues to diversify the company’s role, services and products to deliver on visitor’s demand and where tourism businesses have identified gaps.
On a very strong guidance, Tour Managers have been widely recognised as part of the logistics framework in the industry.
Being travel inbound specialists offering a wide range of exclusive services for visitor’s needs, Tour Managers has continued to diversify since their establishment.
These have included the provision of tour guides for Chinese visitors in 2015, managing the tourist and spa at Natadola Beach and running a wedding and event management company called Paradise Brides.
“This is an industry that has faced devastating challenges and our ability to rise each time is because of the perseverance and resilience of people in the industry,” Mr Gounder said.
After the events of the May 2000 coup, for instance, a recovery programme for the Fijian tourism industry saw the formation of the tourism action group. Mr Gounder had served as the chairman of the Japan Asia Tour Operated Association and was the president of the Society of Travel Associates.
He served as a director of various company boards with the national airline, the Air Pacific Limited when he was a board member and an audit member. He also served Fiji Sugar Corporation as a board director, and chairman of the audit committee.
At the then Fiji Visitors Bureau, he was a board member as well.
Recently he is the new chair of the Fiji Development Bank.
“Indeed local business operators are a living testament to earn this belief pushing the boundaries of delivering what visitors want no matter how diverse this has been and changing the business model to move into the wider successful business as it is today.”