PNG’s tourism potential backed

TOURISM is a global industry that has a value of over a US$10 trillion (about K37.1 trillion), however, Papua New Guinea’s underdeveloped tourism industry contributes less than two per cent to the country’s economy, an official says.
Tourism Promotional Authority (TPA) chief executive officer Eric Uvovo said this at the World Indigenous Business Forum yesterday.
“Tourism is an industry that has a huge potential to contribute greatly to the economy.”
Uvovo said that tourism growth in PNG had experienced stagnation during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, with the country recovering from the lockdown on global travel and tourism slowly returning to pre-Covid numbers.
He added since 2020 the numbers of people entering the country had increased from about 16,000 a year to about 69,000 last year.
Uvovo explained that the TPA and the Government had identified five areas that would set a new direction for tourism in the country for 2023 and beyond.
These areas included culture showcasing, bird watching, soft adventures (low cost, low risk), diving and visiting historical sites in the country.
Uvovo added that the target audience were mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions /business) travellers, who spent the majority of their lives travelling the globe and were willing to spend huge sums of money in the tourism sector.
He said that, “picking up from the Covid-19 global lockdown, there needed to be investments in the national and sub-national sectors.”
These included, coordinating and partnering with the private sector, streamlining the visa processes for tourists, improving road and hospital infrastructures, while also improving investments in the hospitality sector.
Uvovo said that TPA had recognised that eco-tourism and sports were areas of mass tourism, which attracted revenue for the country.
He added that TPA also used well-known brand ambassadors to promote the country such as rugby league international Justin Olam.