Tourism

The department and Vanuatu Institute of Technology (VIT) have delivered SBO training workshops to over 500 participants from more than 137 tourism businesses in SHEFA.

Further sessions have been planned according to demand.

In the other provinces, Vanuatu Skills Partnership has trained 271 staff from 145 tourism operators.

Safe Business Operations Coordinator Rae Ernst said it is pleasing to see so many businesses engaging in the programme; however, she would like operators to continue preparing and reach out for support if needed.

As of Thursday, fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries including China, India, and France can enter Bali. The UK is not on the list.

But visitors must first serve a five-day quarantine in a hotel.

Officials had closed the international airport in April last year to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

In July, Indonesia became the epicentre of Covid in Asia, but daily cases have since reduced significantly.

Now the tourism sector is hoping that some of the 6 million foreigners who visited the island in 2019, before the pandemic hit, will return.

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated economies around the world but Fiji has been hit particularly hard by international travel bans.

Figures from June showed more than 100,000 people were no longer employed due to the tourism standstill.

Jessie McComb, a senior tourism expert with the International Finance Corporation, said tourism operators in Fiji are already preparing to welcome tourists back.

With 10 active cases and quarantine botch-ups, it could be months yet before Australian and Pacific visitors are allowed in.

Meanwhile, Australian Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has warned its border will mostly likely be locked down until 2021.

That has businesses feeling nervous.

For Skyline - an adventure tourism business in Queenstown and Rotorua - the weekdays are the hardest.

Locals are visiting in the weekends and school holidays, but in between the luges and gondolas are quiet.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) brought together various partners to discuss the development of a Vanuatu Local Cuisine Revival Strategy.

The workshop was facilitated by the Department of Tourism, Votausi Mackenzie from Lapita Café, Robert Oliver the Executive Director Pacific Islands Food Revolution and supported by the Pacific Agricultural Research and Development Initiative (PARDI 2) project under the Australian Centre for Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Participants discussed future opportunities and challenges facing the industry.

The Destination SANMA’ meeting builds on from previous consultation workshops that have been held over the last six months as part of the development of the SANMA Sustainable Tourism Plan.

The consultation workshops provide a chance for open dialogue between the government and the private sector about the issues facing tourism in the province and how best to rectify them through a detailed and comprehensive tourism plan.

Member countries are represented by their national tourism offices and these include Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, New Caledonia Tourism, Samoa Tourism Authority, Vanuatu Tourism and the Solomon Island Visitors Bureau.  Private sector participants are Turama Pacific, Air Caledonie International and Noumea Discovery Travel Company

In a statement, the Oxford Business Group said in mid-September, the government announced that Chinese tour groups travelling on trips sanctioned by PNG’s Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) will be able to obtain visas on arrival, rather than having to apply months in advance, as had been the practice.

These businesses include hotels, resorts, motels, bungalows, cultural villages, and tour /transfer operators within the six provinces that meet the minimum standards.

Pelam explained that there are two permits, Conditional Permits and Full Permits.

The Conditional Permits are for six months only to work on their short falls and then get a full permit for two years. However, the Conditional Permits can't be renewed.

In its 16th year, TOK TOK has again played an important role in tourism growth for Vanuatu.

2018 Tok Tok Vanuatu took place last week at Warwick Le Lagon- Vanuatu assembling close to 150 delegates ie. 58 sellers (local tourism operators) and 55 buyers (international wholesalers & media) coming from Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the United States, Fiji Islands, China, Japan, and Europe.