Call to boost domestic tourism

By CLARISSA MOI
PROMOTING domestic tourism given the Covid-19 situation will provide an opportunity to take stock of what the country can do to attract tourism when restrictions are lifted, Madang businessman Sir Peter Barter says.
He said travel restrictions to other countries would continue to be applied throughout this year, hence, the need to promote domestic tourism.
“Convince resource companies to take local leave in PNG instead of fly in/fly out as is the case at present,” Sir Peter said.
“It provides an opportunity to keep tourism alive and, for us to take stock of what we have and what we can do to attract tourism when restrictions are lifted.
“Currently, the Tourism Promotion Authority is using television advertisement that are directed at international tourists.
“We need ads to attract domestic tourism.”
Culture and Tourism Minister Isi Henry Leonard recently said that given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry, the focus would now be on promoting local tourism.
“We are in a time that the Covid-19 has stopped foreigners from coming in but that is not the end of the story,” he said.
“We should look within (the country) and see our potential.
“We should look at what’s here already, those who are kept captive (due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions).
“Look at the mine workers, look at other sectors.
“We must promote local tourism within this time to help the economy.
“The area that we should promote are those places that have potential.
“We already have what is naturally here, we can use that to promote local tourism. The challenge is to look seriously at those areas and, maybe, use provisions within the laws that the Government has and promote tourism hubs within those areas.”
Meanwhile, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority chief executive officer Eric Mossman said recently that in light of the impact of the Covid-19 halting international tourism, domestic tourism would be one of the organisation’s objectives going forward.
“We are positioning ourselves to move forward having learnt from the impact of Covid-19,” he said.