Tourism Fiji is a Fijian government marketing agency responsible for promoting

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

as a

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

destination abroad. Formerly known as the Fiji Visitors Bureau, the agency was established under the Tourism Fiji Act 2004 and is under the jurisdiction of the

Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. The agency's head office which is located in

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

, also maintains a presence overseas to target markets mainly in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Asia and continental Europe.

History

During the 20th century, the Fiji Visitors Bureau which was formerly known at the time was established by th
Tourist Commission and Visitors Bureau Act of 1969
and was given the responsibility to promote Fiji as a tourism destination abroad. The agency now known as Tourism Fiji, established by the Tourism Fiji Act of 2004 took on the responsibility and has been ever since focusing mainly on marketing Fiji.

Campaigns

In November 2021, Australian actress

Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...

was chosen by Tourism Fiji as the face of a tourism campaign called 'Open for Happiness'. The campaign which was the first since the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji The COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in Fiji was reported on 19 March 2020 in Lautok ...

featured the actress welcoming tourists back as the country announced the opening of its borders that year.

Controversy

In April 2018, Tourism Fiji released a promotional video where a poster referenced the word toilet as vale ni lotu'''. The word which translates to church in the iTaukei language drew public outrage with many calling on the agency to take action against the person behind the video. The video was condemned by

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Ro Teimumu Kepa adding that she was disgusted that Tourism Fiji would allow the video to be published. The agency later deleted the video and in a press statement apologised for the incident saying "Tourism Fiji takes full responsibility for the error and sincerely regrets any offence this post may have caused our fellow Fijians." The staff behind the video was terminated.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Tourism agencies Tourism in Fiji