A resident of Vanuatu and with business interests, Owen Drew, says in order to sustain tourism in the Pacific region there must be harmony between the operators and local communities.
Mr Drew's comments come ahead of a conference in Vanuatu where 30 experts in a wide range of areas will discuss issues on Communities and Sustainable Development which is also the theme for the two day conference starting on Monday.
Mr Drew says tourism is a big earner for Pacific people but tourism has impacted on their daily lives.
"By that I mean if you're looking at water based activities there are customary reefs there people taken fish and shells and goodness knows what else, but when tourism comes along there is a conflict there, and there's a need for some reward to come back to the village people, if they can't basically use the reefs as they've done before they've got to be able to get revenue or food from another source."
