The 2019 International Islands Tourism Conference (IITCZS) was held on 29thAugust as thousands of guests from over 25 countries and regions gathered at Zhoushan International Conference Center, Zhoushan. Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China and Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, this event was supported by Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Zhoushan Municipal Government, Tripvivid and Qulv. This was the first time for Fiji to participate in this platform, not only to exchange and share development experience in islands tourism, but also to tap its great potential in tourism, one of Fiji’s economic mainstays.

Consul General of the Republic of Fiji in Shanghai, Dr. Yok Yee Chan was invited to the panel discussion held at IITCZS, exploring how to utilize the comparative advantages of islands countries to widen their tourism markets and to attract Chinese tourists with representatives from France, Norway, Maldives and Bintan Island.

During the event, the President of China Tourism Academy, Mr. Dai Bin officially released the Report of Global Ranking of Island Tourism Competitiveness, indicating that Fiji was among the top ten of island tourist destinations (Archipelagos) in the world considering its rich tourism resources and excellent tourist satisfaction results. Fiji and Fiji Airways were respectively given 2019 IITCZS Cultural Tourism Award for Preferred Island Destinations and for Preferred International Airlines. Mr. Vincent Zhen, Tourism Fiji Regional Manager in Greater China took the stage to accept the awards.

Fiji, the brightest pearl in the South Pacific, has always been popular with tourists. In 2018, over 870,000 international tourists visited Fiji, around 50000 of which were from China. With the successful launch of the 2019 Year of Tourism for China and Pacific Island Countries, it was expected that more Chinese would travel to Fiji to enjoy the local customs and culture.