Tewaka’s resilience team growth rewarded
Tewaka claimed top honours in the Inbound & Transport Operators award of the ANZ Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards.
The award means a lot to the couple, Lala and James Sowane as it marks the success of their new brand, TEWAKA (to grow…to expand) and the resilience of their amazing team made up of young Fijian talents for the past 24 years.
Their business was closed for 615 days from 26th March 2020 to 1st December 2021 when international borders re-opened.
“It was a very painful experience when after a few months of trying to hold onto our team, our cash flow dried up so we had to eventually let go of over 100 staff,” said Mr Sowane, the managing director.
“We are immensely grateful to a group of our close friends and international clients who assisted with financial support towards our staff groceries during the lockdown period. Thankfully, some of their team had found alternative employment and they are delighted to advise that 85 of their team is back on fulltime work since December 2021 and are looking to grow their team as the business recovers.
They share this award with the families of their team members, Petero Drasali and Maria Dredre (RIP) who have recently been called to Eternal Rest.
“During the closure of our business it gave Lala and I time to re-think and re-model our
business which we have done and it is what TEWAKA operates now, as a respected Tourism Transport and Destination Management Services provider,” added Mr Sowane.
“We are truly grateful to ANZ Bank for their support, encouragement and assurances throughout the most challenging times we had to endure. ANZ was always there for us, plus the Business Assistance Scheme initiated by the Reserve Bank of Fiji enabled ANZ
to further enhance its support package for our business.
2022 was a year of consolidation of their resources and training of their team to adjust to our new business model and reset our business strategy to Re-Group (2022), Recover (2023), and Re-Grow (2024 ) in the same way a resilient Mangrove plant (TEWAKA logo) would evolve and regenerate.
“Full business recovery will take up to five years at least and that is the reality of our tourism service business, we are susceptible to many external factors beyond our control which we will face, however, we will continue to develop our team and remain focused on our new strategy that would enable our business to remain viable and to be resilient in times of adversity,” he said.