Tourism Fiji has launched its new global brand and slogan based on research conducted with 4000 international passengers.
The slogan, Fiji, where happiness finds you, replaces Fiji Me and was unveiled to the industry in Fiji.
Tourism organisation’s chairman, Dave Pflieger, saud it was devised following feedback from departing tourists at Nadi International Airport.
According to reports in the Fiji Times, Pflieger said while the natural beauty of Fiji was praised by visitors, the “warmth and friendliness of the Fijian people” particularly resonated with tourists.
“What we heard was that people wanted out and wanted to escape to a place like Fiji,” Pflieger said. “And this is very true in the current climate where people are working longer hours and harder. For the visitors that chose Fiji, the remarks were that while the beauty of Fiji was nothing short of stunning, the people of Fiji were more impressive.”
Attorney-General and tourism minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum described the campaign as “unique” and one that will play on the “warmth, genuineness and easy smiles” of its people.
Such a friendly nature is taken for granted locally but it can be used to draw in international visitors, he said.
“I was attending an international telecommunications conference and the minister from Bhutan said his government had programs that measured and encouraged gross domestic happiness,” he was quoted as saying. “Citizens attended classes to learn how to smile. It then hit me that we take our smiles for granted.”
He added: “It is very much part and parcel of the Fijian culture, psyche and makeup and I am very pleased that our new happiness campaign is very unique and is linked to people as opposed to inanimate objects.”
Andy McLeish, head of planning at COLENSO BBDO, the advertising agency tasked with lifting Fiji’s global tourism profile, said: “Our strategy is to show that Fiji can make you happier than anywhere else in the world.”
Tourism Fiji in Australia declined to comment on the launch or subsequent campaign until it is officially unveiled in Australia “in a few weeks”.
