Advertising Fiji in Australia

from w, I was surprised to see a 24 page insert in the Herald Sun promoting Fiji with articles mainly by Rory Gibson. (Rory Gibson is a senior journalist on Queensland’s Courier-Mail newspaper. His most recent roles have included Weekend Editor and Night Editor, but by far the job he invests most of his time and energy in is writing the newspaper’s weekly beer column. He is a former Editor of the Townsville Bulletin, a former Editor-in-Chief of the Fiji Times, and former Chief Sub-Editor of The Australian.) I guess this is where some of the Fiji Visitors Bureau money is going. Certainly the prices of trips to the resorts sounds very good and the articles are the usual mix of fun and description even promoting Fiji's bad roads as 'part of the adventure'. Rory Gibson knows Fiji well and there is a lot of information. But will it entice more people to visit Fiji? As an insert in the Herald Sun, it won't reach everyone.

One disappointment though is that the significant Fiji Indian population is invisible in the articles except a pic of Vijay Singh the golfer as a quote about Natadola even though his involvement in Natadola was scrapped! Surely there ought to be something about the fabulous Indian food in the cafes, the temple in Nadi, the shopping and so on.

DiscoverMe. CaptivateMe. MarryMe. RelaxMe Fijime. Gimmicks.

An article by Stephanie Dowrick in the Saturday Age is honest. As a child she lived in Samoa. Now she writes of Pacific Dreaming as incomplete without the knowledge that life is tough, very tough for some South Pacific families.