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Approved Destination Status
Papua New Guinea should now look at receiving more tourists from China following the National Government's approval to apply for the Approved Destination Status from the Peoples Republic of China. The ADS is necessary for PNG to tap into the lucrative Chinese travel market because the Chinese Government does not allow its citizens to travel as tourists to countries where it has not granted ADS. The process of formalising the ADS will take a few months. The National Government has also agreed for PNG to apply for membership to the World Tourism Organisation. This will also take a few months before PNG is confirmed as a member to the WTO.
GG Advocates for
Tourism
Governor General Sir Paulius Matane has become the unofficial
ambassador of Papua New Guinea tourism. A true believer of the enormous
potential tourism has for PNG, Sir Paulius is going out of his way to ensure
little people in the villagers understand and embrace tourism. On November 15,
accompanied by PNG Tourism Promotion Authority chief executive officer Peter
Vincent, Sir Paulius led the 'GG's Tourism Promotion Walk' from Roku
Village to Atlas Bay and the pristine Idlers Beach. About 20 minutes drive from
Port Moresby's CBD, the area has a rich history with huge wartime bunkers
lining the hilltop facing the ocean. The Queen's Representative in PNG, Sir
Paulius hopes to conduct more such tourism awareness to other villages
around the country during his term at Government House.
New TPA Board
The Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority has a new Board under the chairmanship of Huon Gulf MP Hon. Sasa Zibe. Other board members include Peter Honale, Warren Daniels, Bob Martin, Jacob Rara, Anthony Los, Jim Winfrey and Andrew Charles Abel. The former board was replaced after their two-year term expired.
New Year Greetings
On behalf of Board, Management and Staff of the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority, we wish you all a prosperous New Year- 2005. We take this opportunity to thank all of you out there who have supported Papua New Guinea tourism in one way or another. To all industry members, please, continue to supply us news and information of what's happening at your end so we can keep our local and overseas friends and visitors informed. Those wishing to visit PNG in 2005, please visit our website: www.pngtourism.org.pg or email: info@pngtourism.org.pg for information.
PNG 2005
Public Holidays
The National Government has approved Public Holidays for 2005 for Papua New Guinea as follows: New Year's Day (Sat. Jan 1, 2005); Good Friday (Fri. Mar 25, 2005); Easter Saturday (sat. Mar 26, 2005); Easter Sunday (Sun. Mar 27, 2005); Easter Monday (Mon. Mar 28, 2005); National Remembrance Day (Mon. Apr 25, 2005); Queen's Birthday (Mon. Jun 13, 2005); Independence Day (Fri. Sep 16, 2005); Christmas Day (Sun. Dec 25, 2005); Boxing Day (Mon. Dec 26, 2005); Public Holiday (Tue. Dec 27, 2005). The Government will observe other national and international days but not as public holidays. Those intending to visit Papua New Guinea in the New Year should check our calender of events on our website: www.pngtourism.org.pg.
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Hawthorn Conquer Kokoda Trail
Despite all the
discouragement from circles of the Australian media and the Sydney Swans in
particular, Australian Football League club completed a successful trek on the
historical Kokoda Trail from December 4 - 9. The 20 strong
team started at Kokoda in Nothern Province and ending at Owers Corner in
Sogeri, Central Province. The Herald Sun newspaper on December 17 ran a 'Kokoda
Diary' by Sam Mitchell and Richie Vandenberg detailing just about every step and
the team's experiences on te trail. Part of the diary read: "You can sense
the history. I wasn't the only one to have felt quite emotional". Star ruckman
Peter 'Spida' Everitt described the trek as tough but a magnificent and
humbling experience. Spida and Ben Dixon have written a 48-page book diary of
their trek, which has already gone on sale in Australia. AU$1 Dollar from
every book sold will go to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Foundation. Visit www.pngtourism.org.pg for infor on
the Kokoda Trail.
Warne to trek Kokoda
AUSTRALIAN cricket star Shane
Warne has set his sights on doing a charity trek on the Kokoda Track in April
2005. According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Warne is considering taking
part in a 7-day trek over the Owen Stanley Ranges that would either start or
finish with an Anzac Day service at the Isurava Memorial. Warne's brother and
manager Jason Warne confirmed to the newspaper his brother was interested in the
trek as a way of raising money for his children's charity, the Shane Warne
Foundation, if he gets the go-ahead from Cricket Australia. The Kokoda Trail is
fast becoming a tourism icon for PNG and Warne's trek, which is expected to
include 30 very prominent sporting personalities will definitely give
it more prominence overseas. Meanwhile, a new Kokoda Track Authority board
has been sworn-in under the chairmanship of Alfred Amuli. The KTA has also
increased trek fees for international trekkers from K100 to K200 starting
January 2005, while the rest of the category fees remain the same.
West New Britain Tourism
Tourism in West New Britain is getting government support following the revival of the West New Britain Tourism Bureau. The Post Courier newspaper reported that a Tourism Action Group (TAG) chaired by Max Benjamin of Walindi Resort was responsible for the revival, which saw Governor Clement Nakmai committing K60,000 to the new bureau. The TAG also launched its website: www.tourismwestnewbritain.org.pg. West New Britain has
lots of diving, fishing, war relics and other tourism attractions.
First Vanapa Clients
Congratulations to Carl Valentine,
Stuart Valentine, Cristi Morf, Nick Menzies, Kate Higgins, Jacquie Niblett, Gwen
Nelson, Marcus Pelto, Debbie Reschke and Drew. Except for Stuart, who was
on holiday from Australia, the rest who are Port Moresby residents, became the
first paying clients to raft the rugged Vanapa River with Fuzzy Wuzzy
Expeditions and Kokoda Spirit recently. Well done. Those wishing to do
whitewater rafting should email: kokodaspirit@bigpond.com
TPA Covers Lodging Costs
Papua New Guinea Tourism
Promotion Authority Board Chairman Sasa Zibe says his board has agreed to
meet accommodation costs for 13 project proponents from Papua New Guinea
attending the Pro-Invest conference in Fiji from February 1-3, 2005. Mr. Zibe
said his Board made the decision as TPA's contribution because the benefits
from the Fiji meeting would be enormous for PNG tourism. The 13 project
proponents are mainly small to medium tourism operators from across PNG.
Surf's up
PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has jumped on the surfing craze currently hitting Papua New Guinea's north coast - from Wewak to Vanimo. Sir Michael who boasts about surfing as a child using wooden splinters, claims surfing as a traditional part of Papua New Guinea. "Surfing was not introduced to us - when the canoes were damaged, our dads and uncles would cut the surfboards up. We started when we were in the village, at about nine or 10," said Sir Michael. The Prime Minister was speakig to a group of visiting Australian journalists and photographers in Wewak recently. The group was out to catch the perfect swells in Vanimo and Wewak on a promotional trip arranged by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority and the PNG Surfing Association to market surfing as a tourism product for PNG overseas. TPA's tourism partners Air Niugini and TNT Air Cargo also played crucial roles in making the trip possible. Brad Farmer (tRACKS Magazine), Jess Ponting, James Alcock and Tanya Lake had a "blast" - surfing, capturing the magic of the Sepik on camera and giving out some 35 secondhand surfboards to village surfers. The boards were collected in Australia to encourage cross-cultural relations between our two countries. In fact, Sir Michael was so impressed with the program, he has decided to travel to Australia and buy secondhand surfboards for children in Wewak. Visit www.surfingpapuanewguinea.org.pg for more infor on
surfing.
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