Our founder, Rosie, was raised by her grandparents in Nadoi village in Rewa, until her father brought both her and her sister back to Suva where she began to make a life for herself working odd jobs.

In 1963, Rosie heard that something extraordinary was happening in Nadi where hundreds of people were now finding employment in a new industry. Tourism was relatively unknown and no one could imagine anything exciting happening in Nadi, which at the time was vastly underdeveloped. She was fascinated by the opportunities presented by the industry when “the big flying ships” would land at Nadi Airport – disembarking thousands of passengers eager to splash foreign currency enjoying themselves for the benefit of Fiji’s economy.

Though a struggling single mother at the time, Rosie followed her instincts and moved to Nadi where she found a job working for a tour company. At the airport one day, she met Captain Roy Whitton – a former Australian navy veteran working in Fiji as a manager for Qantas.

They married and together started Rosie Tours in 1974, with just themselves and two drivers.

Their vision was to build an extraordinary tour company and they genuinely believed in the potential that tourism had to lift Fijian people out of poverty. Rosie herself was an example of this, and subsequently threw herself into the business with boundless energy and enthusiasm.

Rosie’s reputation for honesty, reliability and her distinct brand of Fijian hospitality didn’t take long to spread globally, by word of mouth. Tourists on their way to Fiji were simply told: “When you get into the airport in Fiji, all you need to do is find a woman there named Rosie!”

Today, the Rosie Travel Group is the most awarded and recognized travel brand in the South Pacific, operating a diverse portfolio of tourism investments, including transportation, inbound tourism, retail travel, overseas wholesaling and hotel resort ownership and development.

Now run by their children, Tony Whitton and Rose Whitton-Cavu, Rosie Holidays continues to be a family-owned company with a team of over 600 staff who are continuing the family legacy of integrity, honesty, and hard work.

Founder Rosie Whitton with her son, Managing Director Tony Whitton