Hong Kong Sevens Rugby to help Fiji tourism

A Report in the Fiji Times says that no one can deny the slump in tourist arrivals and the tourism industry has done all it can to lure the all-important visitor back to Fiji,  but “everything” costs money and we know just how difficult it is to fund promotions of our land as a tourist destination.

With the interim Government not giving an extra dollar in its revised budget towards the campaign to bring tourists back in the wake of the December 5 military takeover, it is up to the industry to do something about it. The Tourism Action Group has done so much towards just this and deserves a pat on the back.

TAG talked of needing $5million after the December 5 takeover to fund the revival campaign. Whether this figure has been revised up or down is not clear.

But a sporting event happening this weekend thousands of miles from home is a god-sent promotion worth millions of dollars and we don’t have to pay a single cent for it.  It’s the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament in which Fiji, since the tournament began in 1976, has been its main drawcard.

The very success of the tournament has been the presence of the free-flowing Flying Fijians, the only national team other than Tonga to have appeared in every tournament since 1976.Hong Kong loves Fiji and on top of the magic, skills and artistry exclusive to the Fijians, and which has made them so popular to the Hong Kong crowd, there’s Waisale Serevi.

Serevi and Fiji (not necessarily in that order) have helped turn that annual tournament into a glamourous event, attracting thousands of visitors to the former British colony each March-April, and the spin-off has not only been to Hong Kong’s benefit.

Fiji is promoted extensively to a worldwide audience during the Hong Kong Sevens tournament regardless of whether we win or lose and just the presence of the national team in the Happy Valley has done so much to promote our land.

Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association president Dixon Seeto agrees the opportunity is worth millions of dollars in promotional value, saying that many people the world over know, or will get to know Fiji by watching the tournament live or on television this weekend, adding, “It creates greater awareness about Fiji and the country’s profile is raised to commendable heights when people watch the team’s performance”.

Mr Seeto said the sevens team “shows the world what Fijians are like when they wear the white jersey on the field” and “Through rugby matches, the team exposes to the world our friendly personality and that, in itself, attracts visitors to our shores”.

If Fiji wins in Hong Kong tomorrow, Mr Seeto says it will be the “icing on the cake”.  With hotel occupancy here hardly promising, a win could help swell numbers again.

Mr Seeto says while visitors are still coming, they are not spending money adding, “That is why we need tourists from Australia and New Zealand because these visitors spend a lot of money shopping when they come in.”  “They spend a longer period on holiday,” he said. “It is no point recording high visitor arrivals if they simply stop over for a couple of hours.

“If visitors stay for several days they will spend their dollars booking into hotels and buying stuff to take back with them, then it means more income for the local economy.

That is why tournaments like the Hong Kong Sevens help attract visitors and, in turn, sell Fiji tourism to the world, says Mr Seeto.

Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau CEO Bill Gavoka agrees exposure like that generated by the Hong Kong sevens Fiji cannot afford to pay for, adding, “The coverage throughout most of the rugby-playing world provides that critical exposure so important for tourism marketing to succeed.

“When you present a Fiji tourism brochure to anyone overseas, it helps if they already have some aspiration to come to Fiji.”

Mr Gavoka believes hundreds of millions of people in the world of rugby could be aspiring to visit Fiji, adding, “Rugby in Fiji is great for tourism it attracts people to our shores.”

Mr Gavoka says anything that places Fiji positively in the global community is good, especially at this time and in contrast to his statement last week that the consumer campaign had failed and that business was a disaster, given the circumstances, the bureau is reasonably pleased with the number of visitors in January and February, adding “It is a gradual rebuilding process.”  “We have got to have patience,” he says. “It is not like a factory where you close it one day and reopen with full production immediately.

“It takes a while, that’s why we ask people for patience and a win at So Kon will be a great step in the right direction,” he says.

The Hong Kong tournament is the most popular and biggest in the annual IRB series.

Fiji has won the HK Sevens nine times since 1976 and the Seven’s World Cup twice in 1997 and 2005 in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Sevens is the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series and is held annually.

Report by The Mole and the Fiji Times