Australia – Tourism Fiji has launched a new campaign with Havas Host, Sydney dedicated to Asian travelers and shows how hard it is to look sad in a place where happiness comes naturally. For Tourism Fiji, they want to demonstrate that there is much more to the experience than just tranquil beaches.
The new campaign recently launched in the Asian market, ‘Happy Passports’ follows two people who know this all too well: Ana, a customs officer at Fiji’s international airport, and Viliame, a local passport photographer.
Both have noticed a curious phenomenon: it’s hard to look sad in a place where happiness comes naturally. Ana and Viliame’s playful interactions with visitors and locals alike highlight the difficulty of maintaining a serious expression in a place as joyous as Fiji.
The campaign launched yesterday in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Japanese; and is part of a comprehensive global media strategy, spanning OLV, website, audio, and social media in Fiji’s Asian key source markets.
It will direct audiences to the Tourism Fiji website (fiji.travel) for English speaking travelers in Asia, (visitfiji.jp) for Japanese travelers and (visitfiji.cn) for Cantonese and Chinese speaking travelers. There they can explore the wide range of experiences Fiji offers and discover why it’s the perfect destination to bring a smile to every Asian visitor.
Srishti Narayan, chief marketing officer at Tourism Fiji, said, “Fiji’s warmth and playfulness is infectious – it’s a feeling that visitors often say stays with them after they leave. Where Happiness Comes Naturally has performed exceptionally well for us globally and with the next iteration, we wanted to celebrate the playful, cheeky side of Fijian culture that leaves travelers feeling lighter and more joyful.”
She added, “It’s a fun reminder that Fiji isn’t just about the stunning scenery—it’s about the joy and warmth you feel from our people and traditions, and the authentic experiences you can have here. We hope it inspires traveler’s from around the world to come and experience it for themselves.”
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vizor, executive creative director at Havas Host, Sydney, commented, “It’s well known that everybody hates their passport photos as we’re all made to look sombre and serious which is the complete opposite to how you’ll feel when you leave Fiji. After just a few days in Fiji amongst the warmth of the people, the rich cultural or the incredible landscape, we noticed people found it almost impossible not to be happy.”
