Snakes alive! There’s hope for eco-tourism

By PETER ESILA
DELEGATES from the 21 economics attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) tourism working group (TWG) meeting had a tour of the Port Moresby Nature Park, had lunch and then proceeded to Apec Haus yesterday.
Gabriela Ruiz Duran, from the Ministry of Tourism, Mexico, and Muhammad Aiman Zakaria, from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in Malaysia, told The National yesterday that PNG could offer cultural and eco-tourism to the world.
They saw diverse flora and fauna, coupled with the few traditional groups that performed.
“It is very interesting because this is my first time watching the bird of paradise and also crowned pigeon,” Zakaria said.
“Papua New Guinea has a unique culture and tradition, I just know that PNG has more than 800 languages and a lot of tribes, something that we cannot get from other parts of the world.”
Duran said different economies had their own potential for tourism and the Apec TWG was about “working together to promote policies that will promote tourism regardless of the resources and our differences.”