Starring our hotels
WE recognise that our government is currently beset by a substantial number of grave events and allegations.
But this morning, we direct the attention of our readers to less confrontational issues.
This matter was raised last week by Sir Peter Barter, one of the nation’s prime hoteliers and tour operators and it is a subject that should be easily addressed by the government or tourism industry authorities.
Sir Peter was referring to the lack of a classification system for our hotels and lodges.
This may appear a superficial issue but those who have travelled overseas will know of the vital role these classifications can play in deciding where to stay.
Globally, there are tens of thousands of hotels and tourist accommodation lodges and guest houses.
Most nations that are serious about expanding their tourism industry have long ago established a grading system based on many criteria, one that gives the intending visitor a good idea of the facilities and level of comfort offered.
Historically, Papua New Guinea offered a small number of hotels to the travelling public.
A handful of other organisations such as the Country Women’s Association ran inexpensive but acceptable lodgings for travellers.
The hotels generally offered basic rooms with shared bathrooms.
Ceiling fans were a luxury, beds were frequently less than comfortable and even the bed linen could be paper-thin and the pillows cement-hard.
The variety of food served at meals often depended on whether the freezer ship had called recently or food supplies had arrived by air or road.
Power went off at 10pm and an influx of intending visitors meant rooms accommodated three perfect strangers in cramped discomfort.
Our accommodation standards today vary from internationally accepted to facilities that differ very little from those PNG hotels of old.
The widely accepted rating system is based on stars, with the highest level of accommodation receiving five stars and the lowest, one star or none at all.
As Sir Peter points out, a number of hotels and resorts describe themselves as self-appointed “five-star” establishments.
To qualify for a five-star rating, hotels are expected to offer an exceptional level of comfort and facilities.
These will include fully air-conditioned suites and rooms, a mixture of accommodation for those who smoke and those who refrain; two or more dining rooms or restaurant facilities offering the very best of meals, one preferably offering local cuisine, extensive and well-furnished bars and lounges and above all, thoroughly trained and friendly staff.
Such hotels would present a variety of special interest shops, such as an artifacts outlet, a quality clothing store stocked with holiday clothing, a news agency and bookshop and an outlet with all the basic necessities needed by the traveller.
Additionally, there would be well-organised tours by boat, aircraft or road, at least one swimming pool, a tennis court and guest membership of any local golf or other major sports clubs.
Accommodation awarded four-star and below ratings would still offer attentive staff and a selection of the five-star facilities, while the lower gradings might apply to village lodges, backpacker accommodation, the cheapest available rooms and facilities and transit hostelries and guest houses.
The emphasis is less on “good, better, best” rather than on variety of services and accommodation offered and the requirements and budget of the traveller. Such a system allows intending tourists to not only plan their stay in our country, but to estimate the costs of accommodation.
Having had the good fortune to travel widely, we would estimate that there are only two five-star hotels or resorts in PNG, a larger number in the four-star range, while the bulk of available hotels, motels and other accommodation would rate three stars or below.
We heartily endorse Sir Peter’s proposal for a body to travel and assess on a regular basis the star quality of our tourist and business accommodation.
Such action would reflect a professional attitude on the part of our tourism industry, ensure that visitors were happy with their lodgings and most importantly, work towards raising the comfort of our facilities and the professionalism of those who run them.
 
Clinton ‘heading for the exit’
By JOHN ZOGBY
WASHINGTON: To all intents and purposes the race for the Democratic nomination is over.
Senator Barack Obama needs slightly fewer than 200 delegates to pass the winning post and there are more than enough pledged delegates remaining to be elected, and super-delegates waiting to put him over the top.
What is important about Indiana and North Carolina is that Senator Hillary Clinton was not able to damage Obama.
The Illinois senator showed himself to be resilient in the wake of three weeks or so of crisis and, much more importantly, he got back on the winning track.
This is the evidence that some super-delegates have been waiting for.
Many of them – most of them – had clearly made up their minds that they would not support Clinton, and so this had become a case of whether or not Obama could close the deal.
Four super-delegates – party and elected officials – pledged to support Obama, including two who previously supported Clinton.
Added to the nine who came out in support of Obama last Friday, he now has 275 super-delegates to Clinton’s 271.
That is what appears to have happened last Tuesday night.
Where do we go from here?
My understanding is that probably within 48 hours after last Tuesday’s primaries, about 30 super-delegates will endorse Obama.
That should give him further momentum.
Mathematically, this will widen the gap between him and Clinton.
He has a bigger share of the popular vote, more pledged delegates, and will now overtake her in terms of super-delegates too.
I honestly believe that she will find a way to get out of the race before the next primaries – so as to not hurt her future and to not be blamed for hurting Obama and his chances in the general election.
Here are the reasons:
* There really is no mathematical chance for her to win;
* Her campaign is virtually out of money – and it will be difficult for her to raise significant amounts of money after last Tuesday night; and
* Not enough happened last Tuesday to give her any hope, so continuing would only give the appearance of wanting to damage Obama.
Another problem she faces is that she is not perceived as a strong general election contender, because of her high negative poll ratings.
I have no evidence that she will throw in the towel, or when she will.
She is a Clinton and the Clintons do not have the word “lose” in their playbook – but these are the things I am hearing from supporters on both sides.
You will also see pressure from party leaders and party elders on undecided super-delegates to come off the fence.
It is very important that some of that pressure comes from women, because Clinton has a devoted following among older women, who have a sense that this is the last chance in their lifetimes to elect a woman president, and the members of this demographic may not be keen on voting for Obama.
Expect leading Democratic stateswomen, such as Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Patty Murray and Blanche Lincoln to take on this role.
When they do that depends on how long they want this to go on.
These are the people who, together with Clinton, will send signals to older women supporters – not just delegates – that there is no chance for her, and that we have to get on with the general election campaign. – BBC

Note: The writer is an independent pollster and political analyst.
Editorial