Bula. The Fijian word for 'hello' is surely one of the warmest welcomes in the world, especially when delivered on the archipelago's golden shores by a perennially grinning, floral lei-bearing local.
Fijians were once voted the 'world's friendliest people' in a Conde Nast readers' poll. With thousands of miles of pristine, white sand beaches, fabulous coral gardens and azure lagoons to call home, they have reason to smile - and seem glad to share it with foreigners, be they holidaymakers, or property investors.
'Eighty per cent of the land is native title held by the traditional villagers, which keeps the locals happy. They're not worried about foreign investors coming in and taking their land,' says Peter Hilmer, who has been helping foreigners to buy land and build homes on Fijian islands for 20 years.
Lots of places in the Asia-Pacific these days offer idyllic island destinations to foreigners seeking a second home abroad - Bali, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia among them. However, Hilmer, chief financial officer of Maui Bay Info, points out that Fiji is the only one where they can buy freehold title. Other places only offer leaseholds - which Fiji also does, in some of its resorts - which seem to be marketed quite successfully to foreign buyers.
So, what's the difference?
'Fiji is the only place in the South Pacific, apart from New Zealand, where foreign citizens can own freehold land. Only 8 per cent of the land is freehold, so this makes it a rare commodity and a good investment,' Hilmer says.