Milne Bay eyeing long-stay tourists who spend more money

THE Milne Bay Tourism Bureau will focus on developments which will target long-stay tourists, manager Sioni Sioni says.
He said two groups of tourists visited Milne Bay – those who came on cruise ships and those generally termed “long-stays”.
Sioni said cruise ships only stopped for a day and contributed little economic activity.
On the other hand, the “long-stays” spend more money on tours, accommodation and souvenirs.
The bureau plans to create a data base to document the province’s tourism products.
Sioni said finding out information on the preferences of long-stay tourists would help the bureau develop new products and improve existing ones.
“We need to be tracking the long-stay tourists. They spend money in our lodges and on transportation,” he said.
“And they promote us when they take pictures and upload them on the internet. These are high-value guests and we need find out more about them.”
Alotau MP Charles Abel said the K63 million World Bank loan for tourism would be used for infrastructure development to improve the image of tourist hot-spots in the province.
He said facilities for cruise ships and the Gurney airport would be upgraded.
There are also plans to develop a mall in Alotau and to train youths to look after the maintenance of those facilities.