The travel-culture platform EXPLORE Fiji has been officially shortlisted for the 2026 LUXlife Magazine Travel and Tourism Awards, recognizing its sustained contribution to Fiji’s tourism narrative through immersive digital storytelling and authentic cultural coverage. The distinction shines a dignified light on the platform’s enduring goal to connect islands, communities, and travelers through real stories, experiences, and local voices. The nomination comes as a proof that storytelling is still so important in determining the way the world thinks about Fiji, Oceania.
EXPLORE Fiji began over two decades ago as a glossy A5-size print tourism magazine. Over time it evolved, now entirely digital, reflecting a shift in how travellers consume content. This move away from print not only underscores a commitment to sustainability but also aligns with modern travel habits: where readers explore destinations, itineraries, culture and local suggestions on their devices.
Where many travel media focus on luxury resorts and generic attractions, EXPLORE Fiji makes a deliberate choice to highlight local communities, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), authentic cultural experiences, and lesser-known destinations across the islands. Through its Culture, Things To Do, and Local Businesses sections, the platform has created a space for home-grown businesses, artisans, tour operators and cultural custodians to reach international and domestic travellers alike.
By featuring stories about everyday life in towns and cities, cultural events, community-driven tourism and off-the-beaten-path adventures, EXPLORE Fiji gives travellers a more layered, grounded view of Fiji beyond the postcard beaches. For example, recent features explore the vibrant streets of Suva, the capital, offering insight into its markets, lifestyle and cultural pulse, inviting visitors to experience the city like locals.
By providing visibility to MSMEs and cultural experiences, EXPLORE Fiji helps spread tourism dollars beyond the major resorts and hotels, enabling smaller operators, from tour guides to local artisans, to benefit. This kind of grassroots tourism helps foster more balanced economic growth throughout the islands.
In a time when travellers often seek deeper, more authentic experiences, EXPLORE Fiji’s rich storytelling helps shift demand toward cultural tourism, eco-tourism, and responsible travel (rather than just luxury escapes). This shift supports sustainable tourism and helps preserve Fiji’s cultural and environmental heritage.
As Fiji emerges in global travel media (for instance being featured among top destinations for 2026 by international publications), platforms like EXPLORE Fiji play a key role in shaping and sharing that narrative. Their digital-first format also means Fiji’s stories are accessible to a global audience, helping encourage visitors who want more than just beaches, those who want culture, community, heritage.
The shortlist for the 2026 LUXlife Travel and Tourism Awards acknowledges that EXPLORE Fiji is doing more than producing travel content, it is helping build a narrative around Fiji that is rich, real and respectful. According to the platform’s founder and publisher, the recognition underscores the power of Fiji’s local voices being shared on an international stage and reinforces their commitment to supporting tourism, cultural institutions and creative sectors across the islands.
If the award comes through, it wouldn’t just be a win for EXPLORE Fiji, but a win for all those small operators, communities and cultural custodians whose stories reach wider audiences through its platform.
In case you have been a vacationer searching for something different or a tourism investor in Fiji, the choice of EXPLORE Fiji is a sign of the good times. It shows us that it is not only the beautiful beaches and high-class hotels that attract tourists, but also the friendliness of the locals, the savor of traditional dishes, the rhythm of local tales and the genuineness of daily life, all these are the aspects that EXPLORE Fiji wants to highlight.
