East Sepik districts to benefit from tourism

 By EMILY HOKO 

six districts in East Sepik will benefit from tourism after the launching of the 2016 East Sepik eco-tourism provincial calendar in Sydney, Australia next month. 

Ward member for Maprik-Wora local level government, Joxy Sangikra, who received six weeks training with the Eco-tourism Consultancy Services in 2014, would be representing the 280 participants from the six districts of East Sepik at the event. 

“Previously, I used to think that tourists coming to visit us during our mini-cultural shows generated our daily income, but usually most of the money was been paid to the middle-men and hotels and tour operators, and the actual people don’t get paid enough,” Sangikra said.

He added that after the training he had received from Eco-Tourism Consultancy Services he was able to take ownership of the tourism business. 

He has built a ‘haus tambaran’ for tourists visiting during the mini-cultural shows during the year so that they can pay directly to locals. 

The director of Eco-Tourism Consultancy Services Francis Steven said that the Asian and European markets would targeted this year for the tourism industry in East Sepik.

“The result of the trip to Sydney next month would see the province generating K3.6 million in 2016,” he said.

Sangikra is appealing to the provincial government to release the outstanding funds from the K200,000 that was promised to them in 2014.