Tourism potential

I WAS delighted to read in The National last week that eight expatriate trekkers were taking on one of the world’s more challenging tracks.
It was reported to be a 17-day trek and would cover about 200km between Gabagaba in Central and Buna in Northern.
The forgotten trail in American Military History referred to as Ghost Mountain was used by American troops during World War II.
The trekkers are from the United States.
What touched me were the words of some of the trekkers. One of the female American trekkers, Julie Ardoin, said: “Papua New Guinea has been on my bucket list since I was four years old.”
And she expressed that to actually make it through the echo of her childhood dream is absolutely spectacular.
Donna Wilson, of the US, said: “The walk is often referred to by some Kokoda veterans as ‘Kokoda on Steroids’, but to me it’s just another walk in paradise.”
To me, those comments reflect the beauty of our country.
There is great potential to turn someone’s childhood dream into a flourishing tourism success, but that is up to the Government and those who make the tough decisions.
People should welcome and support this industry and the government should introduce and strengthen laws that can guide and expand the tourism industry.
The Government’s investment in this industry should also be optimised because tomorrow when the gold, oil and copper run out, our children will have something to fall back on.

Rodney Peawi, Dysox St
Lae