Tourists’ visit challenges province and district to do more

Momase

By JIMMY KALEBE
A visit by 60 tourists to Finschhafen in Morobe on
Monday has posed a huge challenge for the district and province to do more to encourage visitors.
The tourists, mostly from Australia and the United States, were impressed with the people and the environment.
This was the second such visit by tourists, with 70 visiting last month.
It was evident that Finschhafen and Morobe lacked tourism products.
The chairman of tourism at Gingala village in Finschhafen, Steve Manasseh, said tourism had huge potential.
“We just need support in terms of training to build local capacity,” he said.
“It is not only to do with traditional singsing and dancing. It is also about the people, culture and sites that we have.”
Manasseh said the first visit by tourists to Gingala village was in 2015. There have been two so far this year.
Acting provincial tourism officer Christa Moat said the re-established Morobe Tourism Bureau would work with district officers to promote tourism.
She said Morobe would be able to provide more for tourists after its marketing capabilities were running.
Australian tour company Oceanic Discover, which brought the tourists to Finschhafen, donated sporting equipment and books to Dreggerhafen Secondary School.