Tourism Fiji Clarifies Girmit Day Clash With Tourism Expo

Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill has responded to criticism from former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum regarding the decision to hold the 2025 Fijian Tourism Expo start on the same day as the Girmit Day public holiday.

Sayed-Khaiyum had publicly questioned why the scheduling of the national tourism expo was on the same day as the Girmit Day celebrations, calling it disrespectful to the memory of the indentured labourers.

In response to queries from Duavata News, Hill clarified that Tourism Fiji had no involvement in planning or organising the Girmit Day holiday.

“Being a Fijian (local) event – Tourism Fiji did not have any involvement with Girmit Day celebrations at all,” Hill said.

While acknowledging he is “not an expert” on historical matters, Hill noted that Tourism Fiji does consult cultural experts, including the mother of the organisation’s Chief Marketing Officer, Srishti Narayan.

He emphasised that Tourism Fiji is committed to reflecting the multicultural identity of Fiji in its international promotions.

“We are very conscious of representing the multicultural diversity of Fiji in all of our advertising,” Hill said. “In fact, in our Happiness Comes Naturally campaigns – there have been multiple – we have represented the culture of Fijians of Indian descent in many ways, including through actors and actresses, celebrations of Hindu festivals and culture, food and dress.”

Hill also responded to concerns about the representation of Indo-Fijians among Tourism Fiji’s influencer partnerships. He stated that while the majority of influencers are based overseas, the agency has worked with Fijians of Indian descent on occasion. However, the details of those collaborations remain confidential due to commercial agreements.

“As always, we do not disclose who we work with or the payments provided, as those negotiations and contracts are commercial in confidence,” Hill said.

Tourism Fiji’s Chief Marketing Officer, Srishti Narayan, also offered a personal perspective, highlighting the organisation’s ongoing commitment to cultural inclusivity.

“Fiji's multicultural background is absolutely vital for us in our work at TF and something we work hard to represent in our global marketing."

"For example, when we relaunched our brand the hero ad was recorded in Fiji-Hindi, iTaukei and English. This is especially important to me as an Indo-Fijian woman, and given my mum is a specialist in Girmitya history."

Accurate representation is an ongoing journey for us, but something that we actively consider in all work,” she said