Call to boost tourism

 WITH East New Britain identified by the Government as a tourism centre, money must be spent to build worthwhile volume, East New Britain Chamber of Commerce president Nick Lyons says.

Lyons said Kokopo was the logical hub and the rest of the New Guinea Islands could make their own tourism to attract visitors.

He said the tourism industry needed to make available data highlighting the number of arrivals and how much money tourism was bringing into East New Britain.

Lyons said at present, tourists arriving in Kokopo and Rabaul were from cruise ships stopping over for a day. 

Other tourists arrive from Australia, Japan, Germany and the United States.

He said tourism operators had identified the four main infrastructure to achieve their goals – improving the airport and providing visas on arrival, improving roads, improving water and sanitation and providing consistent and cheap power and communication facilities.

“First impressions are important and if Papua New Guinea is to appear as a competitive destination, adequate infrastructure and maintenance should be done on an ongoing basis making the place look tidy,” Lyons said.

The Government recently identified four regions in the country as special zones. 

They are:

• Port Moresby, National Capital District – commercial and administrative centre; 
• Lae, Morobe – manufacturing and industry;
• Mt Hagen, Western Highlands – agricultural city; and,
• East New Britain as the tourism centre.