Govt missed chance to give Madang shot in the arm: Barter

Including Madang in this year’s Apec events will have helped businesses in the province and given tourism a shot in the arm, a business leader says.
But Madang has been left out even though it has the capacity to host several events, said Melanesia Tourist Services managing director Sir Peter Barter.
Sir Peter upgraded his facilities at Madang Resort last year in preparation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.
“Our intention was to support Apec by providing these facilities at no cost to the government,” he said.
“We saw the need to do as much as possible to restore the image of Madang and the people who have suffered bad media, a lot of which is undeserved.
“We had hoped that money would have been received for the hospital, roads, the airport, main wharf which are all in need of major work.
“We received an official 2018 calendar of Apec events which excluded Madang entirely, but did include Kokopo and events in Port Moresby.
“I am fully aware the main conference will be held in Port Moresby – this has never been disputed. The only dispute has been the sharing of such events, not only with Madang or Madang Resort, but with the rest of PNG.
“Tourism is going backwards. We are doing our best to combat this reduction by various promotional activities and we hope that Apec will further improve the chances to increase the flow of tourism throughout PNG.”