Bula!
We know it seems hilariously unusual (or a complete marketing failure!) to finally introduce yourself and your business when you’ve owned it for fourteen years! But alas, here we are. It’s taken time, enormous heart and so much energy to build this dream… and after fourteen years, we are more excited than ever to share Yasawa Island Resort & Spa with you!
We are James and Erin McCann… we’ve been involved in Fijian tourism since 1993. Erin started out as a Scuba Diving Instructor and James started his Fiji adventures as the General Manager for one of Fiji’s most well known island resorts – Castaway. Together and separately, we have managed and/or marketed some of Fiji’s most iconic resorts; we met in Fiji, we’ve raised our two children here; we have become Fijian citizens, and we work tirelessly to preserve & sustain everything that is so special about our island home.
Yasawa Island Resort & Spa has been in our hearts since Erin was its General Manager in the late 90s. When we purchased the resort 14 years ago, we knew from the outset that Yasawa’s cultural authenticity, stunning location and her people were what made Yasawa more special than anything we had ever experienced in our time throughout Fiji.
We were also acutely aware that these not so common (these days) attributes were something to be treasured, honoured and sustained. It’s for these reasons that we deeply care about our stewardship of Yasawa and the legacy we will leave the island whenever our tenure comes to an end. Simply put… it’s our ‘why’.
It’s why we cherish our local culture so reverently; why we hire and upskill more than 80% of our staff from the villages on Yasawa Island; why we remain a small, intimate & sustainable resort; and why we infuse authentic cultural opportunities into all of our daily activities for our guests.
Another big part of our ‘why’ has become helping our guests disconnect from their frenetic day to day lives and reconnect with one another. We are unapologetic about having no wifi connectivity in our guest bures. It’s not an easy position to take, but we see the difference it makes. Guests approach us regularly to say they have never been so relaxed – anywhere. We have even had guests (on many an occasion) say that we have saved their marriage. We don’t take any of these comments lightly… it really is humbling to know that in fulfilling our own dream, we have created a home for our guests to play, explore, decompress, and restore themselves and their relationships with the ones they love… a very impactful ‘why’ indeed.
It’s taken time, enormous heart, and so much energy to build this dream.
