A go-go archipelago's allure

Fiji is happy. And the archipelago hopes to share its joy with more Chinese. To this end, Tourism Fiji recently signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Sina Weibo microblog platform to promote the "bula spirit" of Fiji, and such attractions as its tropical islands, pristine nature, marine life and culture. Like the Hawaiian aloha, bula is a greeting in the Fijian language. The "bula spirit" makes Fiji the place where happiness truly finds you.

Fiji's top inbound travel markets are Australia, New Zealand, North America and China, respectively accounting for about 45, 20, 10 and 5.5 percent of arrivals. Over 50,000 Chinese visited last year.

"China is a strategic market for Fiji, with huge potential," Tourism Fiji's CEO Matthew Stoeckel says.

"Our real challenge is about generating awareness in the Chinese market."

That's where Weibo comes in. The platform has nearly 500 million monthly and 216 million daily users, according to its third-quarter 2019 financial report. About 127 million users published nearly 5 billion travel-related posts in 2018.

"A growing number of young Chinese netizens enjoy unique, emerging destinations like Fiji," says Yang Yi, head of Sina Weibo's travel business.

About 70 percent of Tourism Fiji's followers on Weibo were born between 1985 and'95, she says.

Their demands are personalized and diverse, she says. They not only seek affordable luxury, culture, cuisine and family-friendly experiences but also, increasingly, in-depth content about emerging and niche destinations.

"Such changes among Weibo users and travelers are undoubtedly good for a diverse and unique destination like Fiji," she says.

Tourism Fiji and Sina Weibo invited Chinese singer-actor Luo Yunxi to travel to Fiji and promote the destination on social media. In July, the online reality show, Feel the World, released an episode about Luo's trip that received over 200 million views.

"Social media is an important channel for promotion. When celebrities and influencers share their travel experiences in Fiji on social media, they may inspire others to visit the destination as well," Stoeckel says.

"There are various in-depth experiences in Fiji, like skydiving and snorkeling. I'm impressed with Chinese travelers, who love to try different experiences and make the most of their trip."

He says their predominant customer base is couples, and many Chinese newlyweds come for their honeymoons. It's also a family destination where children enjoy entertaining activities at kids' clubs.

Fiji hopes to attract more people in its off-season, such as during Chinese Spring Festival, when the islands have the capacity to accommodate more travelers.

"Fiji is an island country, and tourism is its pillar industry," Stoeckel says.

"Tourism is helping to improve the sustainability of the whole country. Those in the tourism industry work closely to protect the environment because tourists like our good ecology."

Visitors can participate in voluntary activities to help turtles and other animals, and restore coral reefs.

The tourism board launched its "bulanaires" program on March 20, the International Day of Happiness, last year to redefine the meaning of "rich".

It aims to find "bulanaires"－a portmanteau of "bula" and "billionaire"－who are rich in happiness and good energy from around the world.

These "happiness ambassadors" will work with Tourism Fiji to share the "bula spirit" with the world.

"Fiji is a place where happiness finds you. The 'bula spirit' is felt the second you arrive in the destination and stays with you well after you return home," Stoeckel says.

"Everywhere you go, everyone will greet you with a heartfelt bula and look you in the eyes when they say it. Bula is more than just saying hello. It has various meanings, such as to wish somebody good health."

He hopes the program will bring bula to Chinese, and Chinese to Fiji.