Focus on local market: Official

By PETER ESILA
THE tourism industry needs to focus on the domestic market to generate and grow the sector, says Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) chief executive officer Eric Mossman Uvovo.
Uvovo said the Covid-19 pandemic has change the understanding of tourism globally.
“We have to do a paradigm shift in the way we approach tourism,” he said that during the Tourism Industry Forum in Port Moresby yesterday that.
“Look at ways we can harness the potential within the domestic tourism market.
“We have got challenges right across the industry.
“There has been a significant drop in everything, so what we try to do is work with Air Niugini, with the tour operators, accommodation owners to come up with packages, incentives so we can have our local people travel, encourage them so that we can have attraction, so that tourism is alive with within the country.”
He said the TPA was looking to sign memorandum of understandings with provincial governments and district development authorities to foster partnership and domestic tourism growth.
“Most of the tourism resources are back in the villages, we have to identify the missing links and we have tried to sign the agreements with provinces and districts, but it takes all of us to work as a team, the resource owners plus the tourism ministry.”