It is the season of love, and how better to express your feelings to your loved one than by giving a bouquet of red roses, a box of assorted chocolates, a romantic dinner date, or a long drive. At Tourism Fiji it’s time to twist this age-old tradition and talk sustainable. This year, Fiji, the South Pacific archipelago and top honeymoon destination is offering lovebirds a sustainable alternative in the form of a Coral Bouquet planting for Valentine’s Day. 

Home to the third-largest barrier reef in the world (The Great Sea Reef, known as Cakaulevu), Fiji is surrounded by beautiful but also fragile corals at threat from warming oceans. 100% of the proceeds from this alternative Valentine’s Coral Bouquet gift go to support the work of leading coral restoration NGO Coral Gardeners Fiji, who will plant and nurture a beautiful coral cluster in the name of love. 

How it works – Purchase a Coral Bouquet via The Coral Gardeners website here for $25 per coral plant, add a bespoke message addressed to your Valentine, and receive a downloadable card including a picture of the fledgling coral bouquet to send on 14^th February. Much like a relationship, coral takes love, nurturing, and time to flourish – therefore recipients will receive updates from the Coral Gardeners on how the coral baby is growing. 

Coral Gardeners is a grassroots organisation established by young surfers, free divers, and fishermen of French Polynesia. Since its creation in 2017 it has planted more than 100,000 corals in French Polynesia and now aims to plant a million corals around the world by 2025. 

With a newly announced international hub in Fiji, headquartered at Six Senses Fiji, and a Premium partnership with Tourism Fiji, Coral Gardeners Fiji is helping to regenerate and protect coral reefs through restoration and awareness efforts throughout the destination.  The Coral Gardeners recently partnered with Warner Brothers on the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom movie release, with Jason Mamoa as their chief ambassador, helping to highlight coral bleaching and the damage caused by climate change.

It is time to spread the love for sustainability and recognize the importance of responsible travel practices that contribute positively to the environment, local communities, and economies.