Tourism Fiji has announced the appointment of Australian tourism marketing senior executive Brent Hill as its new chief executive officer.
Mr Hill was most recently the executive director of marketing for the South Australian Tourism Commission.
Tourism Fiji said the new CEO brought with him 16 years of experience in tourism and digital marketing, advertising, branding, communications, campaign and executive strategy to Fiji’s national tourism office.
Mr Hill replaces former CEO Matt Stoeckel whose tenure ended in December 2020.
“We’re delighted to welcome someone of Brent’s calibre to this critically important role not just for Fijian tourism, but for the Fijian economy. Brent shone through in the extremely rigorous recruitment process initiated and conducted by the Board with PwC’s assistance, for a CEO to lead Tourism Fiji in these unprecedented times, where international tourism activity has been zero for over a year now,” Tourism Fiji chairman Andre Viljoen said in a statement issued by the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA).
“His proven expertise, experience and ideas for the industry’s revival are a perfect fit for Fiji’s current requirements,” he said.
Mr Viljoen said when border restrictions ease and travel resumed, Fiji would need dynamism and creativity in marketing itself as an attractive, aspirational and safe destination.
He said Fiji was in the same situation as every other leisure tourism destination in the world.
“All of us are going for the same markets, which are now smaller with lower discretionary spending ability. Brent is highly regarded in the industry given his many accomplishments, and we will need his wide range of existing relationships and management skills with key global trade partners to market our destination, and his excellent communications skills to rally our industry and stakeholders to a common purpose.”
Mr Viljoen said Mr Hill’s immediate focus would be to work with the Board and “Fiji’s extremely competent health authorities” to restore tourism activity.
Mr Hill has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Accounting from the University of Adelaide, is a Certified Practising Marketer (FAMI) and a Patron of the Australian Marketing Institute.
According to FHTA, he has multiple awards for marketing campaigns over the years, and between 2018 – 2020, has ranked in the top 25 of CMO Magazine’s Top 50 Marketers in Australia.
Mr Hill is a patron of the South Australian Marketing Institute, a Board Member of the Adelaide Thunderbirds netball organisation, ATDW, Goldilocks smart suits, and Ripple Effect.
