A woman in a white bikini and sunglasses stands on a paddle board in the ocean, holding a black paddle. The hashtag #FijiNow is written in large, white, hand-drawn text on the left side of the frame. In the background, lush green tropical mountains rise under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

Tourism Fiji
Cyclone Recovery Campaign

Innovation that made
Fiji ‘Bula as usual’ after
a crisis.

Restored consumer confidence to book a holiday to Fiji.
Generated record visitor arrivals with a 5% increase.
Peak visitor numbers just 4 months after cyclone.

A wide-angle shot of a beautiful Fijian beach with vibrant turquoise water. Large, dramatic white and grey clouds fill the sky over the ocean, where two white catamarans are anchored in the distance.

A cyclone sized challenge

In 2016 Fiji was hit by the biggest storm in the country’s history. In the following weeks, media coverage showed the worst of the damage; hotels flooded, beaches covered in storm debris, dirty seas and desperate Fijians. This was a powerful trigger for aid support but travellers became nervous about holidaying in Fiji and visitor arrivals plummeted. A secondary disaster for a country that relies so heavily on tourism dollars.

An aerial birds-eye view of a small, secluded tropical island in the middle of a deep blue ocean. The island is ringed by a white sand beach and a bright turquoise coral reef, with several overwater bungalows extending into the water.

The ideal time to book a holiday

Much of Fiji was actually unaffected by the cyclone and ironically, the best way to help Fiji was to book a holiday and spend your money there to boost the economy. Tourism Fiji needed a fast market-ready campaign to counteract the negative perception and show people that Fiji was very much open for business.

In situ of project in screen for Tourism Fiji

Crisis became the mother of innovation

Knowing that people trust the recommendations of other people above advertising messaging, the most effective way to show that Fiji was safe to visit was to have people on the ground share positive experiences of Fiji, through their own eyes, in real time across social media.

An aerial birds-eye view of a small, secluded tropical island in the middle of a deep blue ocean. The island is ringed by a white sand beach and a bright turquoise coral reef, with several overwater bungalows extending into the water.

We showed the world that #Fijinow was ‘Bula as usual’

We launched the #Fijinow hashtag, encouraging travellers to Fiji to become our content creators and support Fiji by sharing their photos. Under our tagline ‘Bula As Usual’, we were able to reflect the bula spirit of the Fijian people and show that the famous happy welcome was still there for holidaymakers.

A collage of marketing materials for the #FijiNow tourism campaign, featuring a mix of social media posts, a website homepage, and travel itineraries. The visuals show crystal-clear turquoise water, tropical landscapes, and smiling faces of local children and travelers.

Amplifying the recovery across social

We lined up social media influencers with a global following of over 1.3 million to travel to Fiji and share their experiences. They were tasked with demonstrating to their followers around the world on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Snapchat that “This is Fiji Now”, it’s “Bula As Usual” and show that Fiji had recovered quickly; with many resorts had returned to normal.

Laptop showing in situ of project for Tourisme Fiji Aggreg8

Our content marketing platform Aggreg8 at the core

We set up a bespoke version of our content marketing platform, Aggreg8, to create a campaign hub on the official Tourism Fiji website and through it show a dynamic feed of images directly from our influencers in Fiji and other people on the ground using using the #Fijinow hashtag. The #Fijinow hashtag has continued to gain support long past the duration of this campaign, becoming a valuable stand alone brand asset for Fiji.

Results

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video content views
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social channels growth