News

At Royal Caribbean International, our guests and crew’s safety and well-being are always our top priorities. After further consulting with our partners at Cruise Lines International Association and in conjunction with the CDC, we have decided to extend the suspension of sailings for our global fleet for all sailings through April […]

New Zealand has secured a major global conference on coral reefs, highlighting the plight of the South Pacific to the rest of the world. The International Coral Reef Society’s Symposium will be held in Auckland in the New Zealand International Convention Centre in mid-2025. Around 2,500 experts are expected to […]

In 2019, global travel and tourism contributed an impressive $8.9 trillion to the world’s GDP – a number so vast it’s hard to truly grasp but as a helping point, it looks like this written in full: $8,900,000,000,000.  Then Covid-19 reared its head and soon we were engulfed in a […]

The tiny COVID-free Pacific nation of Palau is poised to become one of the world’s first countries to be mostly vaccinated against the coronavirus.With a population of around 18,000, the country is about the same size of some suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne.It’s this size that has put the country […]

A CNN journalist broke down sobbing while reporting live from the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, having visited ten hospitals.  Sara Sidner choked back tears as she explained the devastating impact COVID-19 was having on the city of Los Angeles, where cases have spiked once again.  “I […]

The Samoan government has extended its Covid-19 State of Emergency Orders for another month due to the rapid spread of the new strain spreading through South Africa and the United Kingdom. The coronavirus mutation first found in England in December, has now spread to fifty countries and territories, according to […]

A grim warning has been delivered by the World Health Organization, as the world heads into the second year of COVID-19 impact. WHO says the pandemic may be tougher than last year, given how the new coronavirus is spreading, especially in the northern hemisphere as more infectious variants circulate. This […]

Tourism Fiji is pleased to announce a few exciting new roles in our team for 2021. Last year was a year of change and while this means new responsibilities for some staff, we can assure you that our team is ready to support you. Some of these exciting staff changes […]

The British High Commission in Port Vila is pleased this week to sign an agreement to provide logistical support to the Vanuatu Government efforts in the 3rd phase of the repatriation process. The grant support, valued at VT6 million, is for two projects: one is to support the vital security and […]

When the results of his latest research into carbon emissions came in, Louis Schipper sat back in his chair and just stared.  “Oh,” the professor of biogeochemistry at the University of Waikato said to himself, expletives running through his head. “We have a problem.’”  While that might not be news […]

The government will allow 1000 foreign students to enter the country from April as part of the recovery plan for international education, it has been announced. Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the students must be part-way through a degree or postgraduate course and would have to pay for the cost […]

The Government of Kiribati has officially declared a further extension of its border closure in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Government advises that this extension will remain effective until the end of February 2021 where it will be further reviewed. Special approval is required for humanitarian flights to […]

Tourism Solomons CEO Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto, the board of directors and  tourism industry leaders, both in the Solomon Islands and the United States have paid tribute to Robert (Bob) Reynolds, the founder of  Solomon Islands WWII specialist tour operator Valor Tours, who passed away on 07 January aged 99 years […]

The Government will roll out the third phase of the repatriation exercise next week. Director General (DG) of Health, Russel Tamata said the third phase anticipated to end in March will also be the final repatriation exercise. But he added that this will be reconfirmed, as lot of Ni-Vanuatu are also […]

The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Vanuatu, ‘Atu Finau, told Daily Post yesterday in an exclusive interview that the priority of the airline currently is to formulate a recovery plan. That is the first major task given to the new CEO on his first week in office […]

You may know that blue carbon is the carbon that is captured and stored by coastal ecosystems, but how much do you actually know about it? For instance did you know… There are three main types of blue carbon ecosystems: mangroves, seagrass, and salt marshes. Mangroves can store up to […]

There are now more than 2000 Samoans wanting to return home and more are expected to register in the coming weeks. The Samoa Observer reports the numbers were confirmed by the Chairman of the National Emergency Operations Centre, Agafili Shem Leo, at a press conference on Thursday. “The Committee can confirm that […]

The upmarket iconic Sinalei Reef Resort and Spa in Samoa has announced it is closing down. Manager Sose Annandale told the Samoa Observer she is heartbroken but determined to stay optimistic about the 24 year-old resort’s future. “It’s heart-breaking really, especially when you see the number of livelihoods impacted.” “We are down […]

A number of cruise ships are sailing globally in January as the industry continues its restart, in a staggered phased-in approach with an emphasis on regional start-ups. Here are the cruise ships currently back in service or planning restarts in January: Cruise Line: Dream CruisesShip: Explorer DreamCapacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,856Built: 1999Homeport: Keelung (Taiwan)Itinerary: One- to […]

New Caledonia Tourism has announced it will partner with agency Nouvelle Vague Marketing to represent the destination in Australia and New Zealand. Translating to ‘French New Wave’, Nouvelle Vague is headed up by tourism industry specialist Caroline Brunel. With more than 20 years’ experience in destination marketing (including 5 years […]