By SHALENDRA PRASAD
TWENTY Chinese couples who will be on an eight-day tour of the country will express their love for each other in style at a special ceremony at Port Denarau on Tuesday, May 20.
Being the first ever themed travelling of its type, 20th of May in 2014 is really a special day for all lovers in China.
“This is a day which means ‘love you forever’ and ‘nothing can change my heart to love you’. And to make this day memorable for twenty couple, such a ceremony will be staged in Fiji for the first time,” said event coordinator AJ Yang.
Mr Yang is based in China and operates as Fiji-China Economic & Culture Exchange Center Limited. He believes Fiji has great potential to attract thousands of Chinese travellers.
According to statistics revealed at the inaugural Fiji Tourism Expo, around 90 million Chinese visitors travelled around the world in 2013 and the number is expected to increase significantly over the years.
“Based on the friendly relationship between Fiji and China, and being optimistic about future expectations of Chinese outbound tourism market, the Fiji-China Economic & Culture Exchange Center is attempting the themed concept travel using the unique tourism resources to attract Chinese tourists,” Mr Yang said.
“On the 20th of May, we will have a special ceremony in Denarau following which the couples take a boat ride to their favorite romantic island.
“This activity is the first time for Fiji to attempt the themed concept travel; it is the best opportunity to improve the brand awareness of Fiji tourism in China,” Mr Yang said.
He said there are plans to roll out more themed travelling involving Chinese tourists in future.
The event will be also covered by Chinese broadcast, print and online media in an effort to showcase Fiji to a wider audience in mainland China.