Vanuatu gives PNG visitors a lesson in tourism

A DELEGATION from Papua New Guinea visited Vanuatu last week to learn more about how to further develop the handicraft and cruise tourism sectors in Papua New Guinea.
The delegation was made up of the chief executive officers from the East New Britain and Milne Bay provincial tourism bureaus, representatives from provincial administrations, tourism offices, cruise tourism and handicraft businesses.
The visit was an opportunity for delegates to experience a handicraft and cruise tourism market similar to PNG.
The delegates also shared ideas and plans for tourism development with their counterparts in Vanuatu.
A highlight of the visit included discussions with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat on sub-regional tourism initiatives.
Delegates were also able to see firsthand how donor supported programmes in Vanuatu have worked, or fallen short, in developing this tourism sub-sector.
The five-day tour from Aug 27 was part funded by the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program – an Australian-funded aid-for-trade initiative that works across Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
PHAMA PNG Country Manager Sidney Suma said the tour would add value to the respective businesses as well as influence the development of the handicraft and cruise tourism sub-sector and broader tourism agenda in the provinces and nationally.”