By JUNITA SOL GOMA
TOURISM in Papua New Guinea has brought about a special bond between the people of Watam in East Sepik province and the operators of Australian based tourist ship mv Orion.
The villagers and their chiefs held a ceremony to show their gratitude to the crew of Orion for helping to make their lives better through the donation of medical and school supplies to the village.
Orion crew and guests were surprised by the ceremony and the gratitude expressed by the villagers.
Orion’s expedition cruise programme coordinator Justin Friend said the chiefs expressed their “absolute delight” as to how much Orion’s visits had changed their lives in a positive way.
Mr Friend said each family wanted to show their gratitude by donating something to the crew and guests of Orion.
The Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) was pleased with the friendship established by the locals and Orion and encouraged other local people to follow suit.
“We encourage such initiatives taken by the locals and the visiting tourists. This is what tourism is all about, to interact with people and to experience their lives, their sceneries and everything about them,” TPA spokesman, Collin Taimbari said yesterday.
The TPA stressed that tourism was a vehicle for alleviating poverty and improving living standard in places where the government’s presence was limited.