News

With international borders still closed due to COVID-19, Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia, the Pacific region’s lead trade and investment promotion agency, has committed to upskilling tourism operators and providing practical tools to support businesses. Last week PTI Australia held an interactive online workshop for Pacific tourism operators to better understand […]

Samoa has registered it’s first official Covid-19 positive case since the global pandemic emerged out of Wuhan China in late 2019. The community remains covid free however, with the 16 year old in managed isolation since he arrived on a repatriation flight on the 12th of February 2021. Samoa’s tight […]

Following its launch in May last year, the highly popular Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), has now been awarded to a remarkable 250 destinations around the world. WTTC, which has continually been at the forefront in leading the private sector in the efforts to […]

The Fiji National University’s (FNU) National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently provided a cookery training course to workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-week course attracted 40 students who underwent training at the FNU Nasese […]

THE Government of Australia and New Zealand (NZ) will continue to support the tourism sector in the Solomon Islands especially to prepare the sector for the reopening of the borders which was closed due to the global pandemic COVID-19. The tourism industry in Solomon Islands has been hit hard since […]

Fiji will continue to introduce innovative investment and export strategies to attract key investors and exporters, including those from China, said a Fijian minister on Monday. According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), Fiji’s Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya said at the virtual Fiji Trade Expo series […]

Jenny Gonapa had no office when she started her business in 2009 – just a laptop, an idea and her determination. Today, PNG Highlands Tours is regarded as a reliable tourism operator, an achievement obtained through Jenny’s commitment to learning and hard work. In many ways, her journey as an […]

Brussels will propose a law on setting up a “green pass” scheme for vaccination certification. However, it says, all member states would need to be on board. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said the EU executive would propose a digital vaccination passport later this month. Members […]

The Vanuatu Department of Tourism (DoT), and Planet Happiness have partnered to launch the Vanuatu Happiness Index Survey which measures the happiness and well-being of Ni Vanuatu throughout Vanuatu’s six provinces. The Vanuatu Happiness Index Survey will enable the DoT to engage communities to measure well-being, moving beyond only measuring […]

By Aleksandra Babii and Sanaa Nadeem If you are hesitant to hop on a plane these days, you are not alone. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourist arrivals are estimated to have fallen 74 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. For many developing countries in the […]

Australia’s aviation regulator said on Friday it would lift a near two-year ban on flights to and from the country that use the Boeing Co 737 MAX planes, among the first in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. “We … are confident that the aircraft are safe,” Graeme Crawford, the […]

CHINESE Ambassador to the Solomon Islands His Excellency (H.E) LI Ming said there’s a big potential for tourism cooperation between China and Solomon Islands. Ming made this profound statement when he delivered his remarks at the 2021 Tourism in Focus on Friday in Honiara. “First of all, please allow me […]

Stakeholder consultations for the development of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) have concluded with the presentation of findings to stakeholders and the Regional Working Group (RWG) completed yesterday. Held throughout February, the three week stakeholder consultation process was delivered via zoom and also relied on UNDP’s Solevaka platform. […]

The Sustainable Tourism & Research Division (STRD) have this week welcomed two new members of staff, as follows: Emele Morgan, Part Time Project Officer Lavon Tamanitoakula, Part Time Research Project Assistant Both positions will support the successful completion of project objectives under phase 1 of NZMFAT funding. The STRD team […]

Sieni Tiraa, Destination Development Coordinator for the Cook Islands Tourism Marketing Corporation, has completed the Sustainable Tourism Training Program conducted by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Sieni’s participation was enabled through support from SPTO, who also supported other Pacific Islands representatives from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu the Republic of […]

There’s a new player on the cruise field, and its name is Selectum Blu Cruises. Snapping up the ex-Saga Sapphire from Saga Cruises, Selectum Blu Cruises will be focusing its passenger sourcing on Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe. “It’s a huge market, more than 300 million […]

The brand new Odyssey of the Seas will be sailing from Haifa, Israel in summer 2021, Royal Caribbean International has announced in a press release. According to the press release, Royal Caribbean will offer Israelis a combination of three- to seven-night escapes visiting the Greek Isles and Cyprus. The new […]

Port Canaveral marked a milestone in the safe, reliable transportation and delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in North America as the Q-LNG 4000, a ship-to-ship articulated tug and bunker barge (ATB) arrived at America’s first LNG cruise port, according to a press release. Nicknamed the “Q4K”, the purpose-built ATB […]

Carnival Cruise Line is launching “From the Funnel,” a series of webcasts hosted by the line’s business development directors from across North America. The new series is aimed to help the line’s travel partners. The “From the Funnel” event schedule will be posted on GoCCL.com with a variety of sessions […]