Tourism industry will fall if people are not vaccinated: Sir Peter

PAPUA New Guinea’s tourism industry will collapse unless the majority of the population is vaccinated against the Coronavirus (Covid-19), a senior businessman says.
Sir Peter Barter, a former Madang governor and managing director of Melanesian Tourist Services (MTS) Ltd, said the tourism industry in the country had been adversely impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.
“Unless we can get the bulk of population vaccinated the situation will not improve and we should all learn a lesson from Fiji (which has a 99 per cent vaccination rate compared to PNG’s 3 per cent) and we should follow if we ever want to see tourism back,” he said.
Sir Peter said it was unhelpful that PNG was rated on the US travel alert list as a destination to be avoided by tourists because of health concerns with the Covid-19, law and order issues, civil unrest (Bougainville and the Highlands) and risk of natural disasters (Mt Ulawun in West New Britain).
“PNG’s lack of vaccination is becoming a real concern,” he said.
“Lack of vaccination is a health, social and economic matter.
“Firstly, it effects the unvaccinated themselves, then their relationship with the family, their workplace and ultimately the economy at a time when our health services are or have already collapsed effectively closing hospitals, preventing purchase and distribution of medicine which effects all other illnesses that require curative care.”
Sir Peter said the tourism industry felt the impact of the lack of visitors to the country and this had put operators under extreme pressure to maintain their workforces.
He said unlike the public service which maintained its workforce regardless of the state of the economy, private businesses needed to generate income consistently to stay operational and if this could not be achieved then these companies would be forced to cut back their operations and let workers go.
He said the Government and its agency, the Tourism Promotion Authority, needed to work closely with tourist operators and associated businesses to stay operational until the situation improved.