Western Division

Western Division is Fiji's tourism and sugar heartland—the 'dry side' of Viti Levu where resorts line the Coral Coast and Nadi serves as the international gateway. Over 80% of Fiji's nearly one million annual visitors (2024) arrive via Nadi International Airport, primarily from Australia and New Zealand. The division includes Nadi, Lautoka (Fiji's second city and sugar processing center), Sigatoka, and the major resort areas of Denarau Island and the Mamanuca Islands. Tourism contributed to Fiji's full pandemic recovery by 2024, though ANZ Research believes visitor numbers have peaked for tourism's GDP contribution. The sugar belt runs through Ba and Lautoka, part of an industry in structural decline: continuous rain and waterlogged fields reduced 2024 production, while the sector has shrunk from 4.38 million tons (1996) to 1.6 million tons (2022). Fiji faces acute labor shortages across hospitality, construction, and trades as Australia and New Zealand's labor mobility schemes accelerate emigration. Sugar and soft drink concentrate (Coca-Cola bottling in Lautoka) remain top export earners. Western Division captures the paradox: Fiji's most prosperous region, yet struggling to retain workers, facing plateauing tourism, and watching its historic sugar industry wither.