Northern firm raises funds to sell concept

By AGNES FIFI UKI
THE Eco-tourism Training Services in Northern is raising money to market its concept in Sydney next month.
Services director Francis Steven said last Friday they came under the public-private partnership programme bill that was approved last year by the national government.
He said they were partners with the Higaturu Vocational Centre, Sohe district, and Oro National Broadcasting Corporation to provide skills to clients and activate marketing and communication strategies to promote tourism products.
“We have built 40 lodges in Sohe and 28 lodges in the Ijivitari districts,” he said.
“We will market these concepts in Sydney and our target is to showcase them to all the universities in Sydney to promote the eco-tourism of Papua New Guinea there.
“We will carry out a fund-raising dinner at Vision City, Port Moresby, on Aug 23 and the target is K500,000 to cater for our travel to Sydney, improve the rundown facility of Radio Oro NBC, which the people in the remote areas rely on to receive information and buy guesthouse materials,” Steven said.
Coordinator Mark Awoda said the programme was launched on Sept 21, 2011, in Port Moresby at the National Parliament.
He said the names of those who would be in the team to travel to Sydney to showcase eco-tourism concepts were not finalised yet.
He said the team would include the four presidents of the local level governments, the owners of each lodge in Sohe and Ijivitari districts, members of the Eco-tourism Training Services and the Oro Saugas band.