Fiji serves up ‘Bula’ breakfast TV to millions of Australians

The breakfast of choice and flavour of the moment for millions of Australians this month was Fiji – thanks to Tourism Fiji and Qantas Holidays.

The two organisations combined resources to provide Channel Nine’s ‘Today’ Show, one of Australia’s most popular AM news and current affairs programs, with an opportunity to broadcast its national Australian weather reports live via satellite from Fiji.

Locations for the broadcast included hotels and resorts on Viti Levu and in the Mamanuca Islands.

The program kicked off on Tuesday 02 August with the Intercontinental Golf Resort & Spa at Natadola providing the perfect backdrop for the first series of live crosses back to the show’s Sydney headquarters.

Fiji hotelier partners joining the exercise also included the Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa, Plantation Island Resort and Tokoriki Island Resort. Air Pacific also joined in the exercise flying the crew and its equipment to Fiji.

Tourism Fiji Regional Director Paresh Pant said the exercise was significant with an estimated daily audience peaking at 2.7 million a day plus advertising and PR value in excess of AUD1.6 million.

“The mix of hotels and resorts involved in the broadcast allowed us to demonstrate just how multi-faceted Fiji has become and our ability to service all travel requirements, irrespective of taste, requirement or budget,” he said.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director, Australia, Mr Paresh Pant at ppant@tourismfijioz.com

Bula Bus Stop - Tourism Fiji brand campaign named ‘Best Outdoor Advertising’ in NZ

A key element of Tourism Fiji’s innovative outdoor multi-media advertising brand strategy in New Zealand, a cleverly designed national bus shelter promotion has been named ‘Best Outdoor Advertising’ campaign by influential advertising industry commentator Bestadsontv.com.

Several hundred people took part in the promotion which revolved round people taking their photo in a ‘cut-out picture frame’ posted at one of close on 200 bus shelters located across New Zealand.

The prize on offer – five nights accommodation for two at the Sheraton Fiji Resort plus return economy airfares flying Air Pacific.

Five of the bus shelters were also fitted with digital signage designed to show the temperature in Fiji with the internet-linked temperature gauge changing four times daily.

The prize winner was Ellerslie local Tom Gasiner whose very creative photo involved dressing up the shelter on the corner of Marua Road and Michaels Avenue in Ellerslie, Auckland, complete with snow, a snowman, shovel and icicles – plus shivering girlfriend Tania Matthews.

Tourism Fiji CEO, Josefa Tuamoto said timing for the promotion was perfect with winter beginning to bite across New Zealand and Kiwis’ thoughts turning to much warmer climes.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director New Zealand, Ms Sala Toganivalu at sala@tourismfijinz.com

Bula Bus – TF UK to hit the English road with Bula Bus Tour

Meanwhile, on the far side of the planet Tourism Fiji’s UK-based regional office has announced it will stage a five city ‘Bula Bus’ tour in Southern England from 12-15 September 2011.

Visiting Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol and Winchester, the ‘Bula Bus’ concept involves hosting a series of afternoon teas and evening functions where Fiji tourism operators will have the chance to meet and present to local wholesalers and consultants.

More than 110 travel industry professionals are expected to attend the events which will offer those the opportunity to enter a competition to win one holiday to Fiji for two people.

Other prizes include a place on a UK agents familiarisation tour to be won at each event.

For more information, please contact Tourism Fiji representative UK/Ireland, Ms Jane West at jane@ihml.com

TF takes new direction with inaugural AU Matai conference in Fiji

In what represents a first for Tourism Fiji Australia and a new direction for the NTO’s promotion of the destination to its Australian trade partners, 61 of the country’s top selling Matai specialist agents have this month visited Fiji as part of an intensive three-day sales oriented ‘Fiji Me’ conference.

Tourism Fiji Regional Director Australia, Paresh Pant said the key difference with this event was the fact that the majority of the activity, unlike previous educational visits, took place at the Shangri-La’s The Fijian Resort & Spa on the Coral Coast.

“Unlike previous events where traditionally we spilt visiting agents and wholesalers into groups and take them off to various parts of the destination, this new short and very intense format allowed us to fully focus the Matais on our key sales messages under the same roof at the one time.

The three-day visit concluded with the agents being split into ‘intimate’ groups of between three to five persons when they will travel to Nadi as guests of local resorts and hotels.

For more information please contact Tourism Fiji Regional Director Australia, Paresh Pant, at ppant@tourismfijioz.com

Tourism Fiji kicks off year-long promotion in Scandinavia and Holland

In what represents one of its biggest ever marketing campaigns in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, Tourism Fiji has partnered with Europe-based youth and student travel specialist Kilroy Group Travel in a year long promotion designed to drive home the ‘Fiji Me’ message to an estimated 4.5 million backpackers, youth and student travelers.

Commencing this month and running until 31 July 2012 the Tourism Fiji ‘Fiji Me’ message will be broadcast across Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden via a whole host of mediums including the internet, blogs, e-newsletters, TV and radio.

The national tourist office’s partners in the event include dive, backpacker, independent travel, youth and student organizations.

With an international network reaching every corner of the globe, Kilroy Group Travel was founded in the Netherlands in 1996.

The company specializes in offering products and services tailor made for youth and students, it’s stated to assist young travelers in exploring life through travel and education.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Marketing Officer, Ms Kesaia Marau at kmarau@tourismfiji.com.fj

Tourism Fiji drops anchor at the Sydney International Boat Show

Underlining Fiji’s ever growing stance as a prime international sailing and boating destination and the opportunities it offers to marine travel, super yachts and general yachting, Tourism Fiji and several of its key industry partners recently attended the Sydney International Boat Show 2011.

Now the biggest marine industry event in the southern hemisphere the event is staged in Sydney’s famous Darling Harbor.

The show is seen as very relevant to Fiji’s tourism industry given the options now on offer to the international sailing community following the Fiji government’s 2009 Super Yacht decree.

The show annually attracts a huge international audience who come to see the latest developments in the marine industry – from recreation and sport to light commercial boating and right through to the top end of the leisure sailing market, the super yacht industry.

Tourism Fiji was joined at the event by Demar Fishing Charters, Adrenalin Fiji and the Pearl South Pacific Resort & Spa.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Marketing Officer, Ms Alisi Lutu at alutu@tourismfiji.com.fj

Destination Fiji - A Travel Guide for the iPad – now live in the iTunes App Store!

Offering millions of iPad owners the opportunity to engage and immerse themselves within the Fiji Islands, ISLANDS and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazines and Tourism Fiji have launched an interactive travel guide for the iPad called "Destination Fiji."

The interactive guide is available as a free download for the iPad within both ISLANDS and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons apps. The app features photography, videos and stacks of resort, cruise and travel specialist profiles.

Links to each app for download in the I-tunes app store as follows:

ISLANDS: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/islands-magazine/id386308647?mt=8

DW&H: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/destination-weddings-honeymoons/id430341353?mt=8#

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director, The Americas, Ms Ili Matatolu at ili@tourismfijius.com

Kiwi agents discover Toberua Island

Pictured, the first ever group of New Zealand travel agents to visit Toberua Island Resort in Fiji’s unspoiled Lomaiviti archipelago.

Toberua is one of nine islands comprising the Lomaiviti Group which lies off the eastern coast of the main island of Viti Levu, just a 15-minute flight or short speedboat ride from Suva.

The agents were visiting the resort as part of the ‘Free Me – Fiji Me’ educational designed to showcase the destination’s ability to deliver as a prime holiday spot for Kiwi families.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director New Zealand, Ms Sala Toganivalu at sala@tourismfijinz.com

Kiwi agents caught between a ‘Hard Rock’ and a family friendly place in Fiji

Pictured doing it ‘hard’ at the family-friendly Hard Rock Fiji in Denarau Marina last week, a group of Kiwi agents participating in Tourism first-ever educational program specifically geared to showcase Fiji’s appeal to the New Zealand family market.

Taking place from 25 June - 01 July, a total of 24 consultants participated in three separate ‘Free Me – Fiji Me’ itineraries visiting family friendly hotels and resorts on the Coral Coast and Denarau on the main island of Viti Levu and Toberua Island Resort in the Lomaiviti region.

Key to each itinerary was an opportunity for each group to island hop in the idyllic Mamanucas which offers the most concentrated range of family friendly resorts in the South Pacific.



The program culminated with a gala dinner held at Plantation Island Resort in the Mamanucas for all three groups.

For further information, please contact Tourism Fiji’s Regional Director New Zealand, Ms Sala Toganivalu at sala@tourismfijinz.com

The Fijian Resort & Spa names marine education centre logo winner

Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa has announced Sigatoka primary school student 10-year-old Ivamere Kurunamarama as the winner of its art competition to find a logo for the Shangri-La Marine Education Centre on Yanuca Island.

The competition was launched in mid-May 2011 for students in three schools as well as children of the resort’s staff with the winner chosen from over 100 entries.

Ivamere attends Nadromai Primary school.

The new logo features a simple swirl design that Ivamere explained represents the letter ‘e,’ for earth while colours used represent the land and ocean. The overall shape also replicates that of many of the shells found in local waters.

The new logo was unveiled on Saturday 16 July 2011 at the resort following a morning of activities for the six finalists that included fish house making and a visit to the Shangri-La Marine Education Centre.

For further information please contact Lata Yaqona, Communications Manager, Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa at lata.yaqona@shangri-la.com

Surf’s Up – Volcom= and ASP bring the world’s best surfers back to Fiji in 2012

A huge win for the Fiji Surf Association, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International and surf industry giant Volcom have announced the return of the world’s best surfers to one of the most perfect waves on the planet – Tavarua or Cloudbreak as it is known in many parts of the surfing world.

The contest will mark Volcom’s first ASP World Title event and a much-desired return to the world-class breaks of Cloudbreak and also the break at ‘Restaurants’ with the Fiji government’s Surfing Decree passed last year proving a catalyst for the return of top pro surfing to the destination.

The Volcom Fiji Pro is set to attract the world’s best surfers to Fiji next year and will also be run in 2013 and 2014.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com or www.volcom.com/fijipro

Castaway Island – cooking up a storm with birthday boy Charlie Palmer

Visiting Castaway Island with his family for no less than the fourth time, one of the biggest names on the US restaurant scene, master chef Charlie Palmer was happy to let others do the cooking for him for a change when the Castaway culinary team led by executive chef Lance Seeto presented him with a special beach birthday banquet.

According to the resort’s management, the high profile gastronome was so impressed by the team’s effort – each chef presented him with a personally created specialty dish – he has sent the entire team a personally autographed copy of his latest cook book.



Charlie Palmer has a massive following across America where he owns 13 restaurants including his “New York flagship ‘Aureole’.

For more information contact Castaway Island Sales & Marketing Manager, Karen Marvell at karen.marvell@castawayfiji.com.au

Tadrai ‘Tabu’- endorsing the wisdom of the ancients

Tadrai Island Resort has shown it takes sustainability seriously, upholding local customs and traditions by implementing a Fijian ‘tabu’ or prohibition against fishing the reefs around Mana Island

The resort’s manager Simon Beckett said that while Tadrai made the most of the delicious seafood available in the region it was not at the expense the environment.

“We want guests to experience the bounty of our unspoiled reefs first hand – not just on their plates,” he said.

The regulation covers the area around the entire foreshore of Mana Island from the high water mark to the edge of the reef.

The exclusion area is well sign posted and is energetically monitored by local villagers who have already reported the return to habitat of some fish species not seen in decades, including snapper, grouper, sweetlips, emperors and especially Jordan tuskfish.”

Led by the Mamanuca Environmental Society (MES), modern resort developments, such as Tadrai Island Resort, in partnership with government and stakeholders are at the forefront in recognising the importance of conserving vulnerable and endangered habitats.

For further information, please visit: www.tadrai.com

Fiji opens first spa run by visually impaired therapists

Fiji’s first massage and spa parlor run by blind or visually impaired therapists has opened in Suva.

The U-Sabai Thai Traditional Massage and Spa is the first authentic Thailand Spa in the country.

Owner Grahame Southwick says the idea to open the place came following one of his numerous trips to Asia – where the practice to use blind or visually impaired people is common.

Southwick says he held talks with the Fiji Blind Society on the possibility of having visually impaired persons to be trained on giving this treatment and run a parlor.

Two people were then brought in from Thailand to provide training to a number of visually impaired persons - who graduated this week.

The spa is located on 15 Pender Street, Suva and open from Monday to Sunday.

For further information, please contact U.Sabaithaispa@gmail.com

Island Hoppers Fiji leaps to new destinations

Island Hoppers Fiji has released plans to expand its operations this year, adding three new destinations to its services and two new fixed wing aircraft to its fleet of helicopters.

Commencing 30 July this year, the carrier utilise two brand new XSTOL 750 aero planes on daily services to Savusavu and Taveuni as well as a four times weekly service to Kadavu.

Island Hoppers Fiji, Director of Operations Craig Keighley has cited increased demand in the region for additional services for the ever increasing tourism and resort industry.

For further information, please contact sales@islandhoppersfiji.com or visit www.islandhoppersfiji.com

2011 National Milo Kaji Rugby Festival

Offering visitors a true insight into Fijians’ love of the sport they call the ‘game they play in heaven’ at true grass roots level, one of the country’s biggest annual school rugby events, the 2011 National Milo Kaji Rugby Festival will take place at Prince Charles Park, Nadi, from 23-25 August 2011.

More than 20 teams involving hundreds of children from all over Fiji are expected to take part in the event which traditionally has been a proving ground for many of the Fijian players who go on to play at international level.

While rugby forms the main focus of the weekend, the event also features a netball competition, festival rides, food stalls and evening entertainment.

For further information, please contact Nadi Kaji Rugby official, Mr Osea Umuumulovo at oscar@fijirugby.net

Hibiscus Festival

Fiji’s longest running charity event, the 2011 Vodafone Hibiscus Festival will take place from 19 – 27 August 2011 at Albert Park, Suva.

Theme for the 2011 event is ‘Our children our future - Love & Protect Them’

Annually attended by thousands of locals and visitors, the event is a showcase of Pacific arts and craft, traditional and contemporary dances, sports and many fun and exciting activities.

The festival culminates in a beauty competition where ladies and gentlemen too women from around Fiji compete for the highly coveted Miss Hibiscus and King of Hibiscus titles.

For further information on the festival and week events please visit www.hibiscusfiji.com

Tadra Kahani 2011

One of Fiji’s biggest festivals of creative art, dance and song, appropriate 16 schools will take part in the 16th Tadra Kahani dance competition to be held on 18 and 19 August at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.

This year’s theme will be based around a ‘Dream Story Show.’

More than 100 schools had taken part since the event was inaugurated in 1995.

For further information, please contact Ms Loretta Jackson at loretta@fm96.com.fj

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