Tourism Fiji is cashing in on today – the UN’s International Day of Happiness – by urging Aussies to cheer themselves up with a break to the Fijian islands.
A survey commissioned by the tourism body has found that the majority of Australians do not consider their home country to be a happy place.
The government, the economy, a lack of holidays and the high cost of living are the mains reasons for Australians’ unhappiness, according to the national study that was carried out by Woolcott Research earlier this month.
The survey found that 59% of people aged 49 to 67 (or Baby Boomers) are more pessimistic than Gen Y when it comes to the perceived level of happiness in Australia, and 81% of Australians who don’t perceive the country to be a happy place blame the economy and the high cost of living.
Almost a quarter of those surveyed from metropolitan NSW and metropolitan Victoria said they are “extremely unhappy”, but when asked to rate their level of happiness in terms of family life, 51% of Aussies are “extremely happy”.
Fifty-five per cent of those surveyed said a holiday would make them happier, compared to 38% who cited sex and romance as something that would improve their happiness.
Paresh Pant, regional director of Tourism Fiji, said: “While Australia has traditionally been considered the ‘lucky country’, it is clear that many Australians do not feel a personal state of happiness. The survey reveals that taking a holiday is a way of improving one’s state of happiness and we encourage Australians to visit Fiji.”
Tourism Fiji also pointed out that Fiji beat a list of 58 countries to top the WIN-Gallup International Global Barometer of Happiness in 2011, which found Fijian people to be the happiest in the world.
