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Visitor Arrivals Increase
PAPUA New Guinea continues to record
positive growth in international visitor arrivals since 2002. The 2004 figures
show an overall aggregate increase of 5 per cent compared to 2003. About
60,000 overseas vistors came to PNG in 2004 compared to more than 56,000 in
2003. The majority (37,000) were again for business purposes, while 17,000
visited PNG for holidays. The number of bona-fide tourists was in fact, a 14.2
per cent increase from the 14,817 tourists that visited in 2003. Most
visitors were from PNG's major source market of Australia, while USA, Europe and
other Asian markets also recorded increases. TPA chief executive officer
Peter Vincent said the steady increases are a positive sign for PNG tourism -
which is not a mass tourism market but rather a niche market for niche products
such as adventure trekking, diving, fishing, surfing, bird watching and
rafting among others. Mr Vincent stressed that the figures are only of
short term visitors to PNG and does not include returning PNG
citizens. Japanese Cruise ships visit
TWO Japanese cruise ships - The Peace
Boat and the Asuka - visited Rabaul and Madang respectively. On January 22, The
Peace Boat with 700 passengers and 250 crew anchored in Rabaul. Rabaul's
picturesque Simpson Harbour was the last port of call on a 100-days around
the world cruise. Tours were pre-arranged by Paivu Tours for the tourists
who took in the beautiful sights and major tourist attractions of Kokopo and
Rabaul including village tours before heading back to Japan. On January 27,
Japan's most luxurious cruise ships Asuka called into Madang for the first time
on a two-day visit (27 -28). The 450 mostly elderly tourists participated
in short harbour cruises, village tours and bird watching tours around Madang.
Melanesian Tourist Services coordinated the tours with industry support from PNG
TPA, Air Niugini and Japan PNG Travel Association. The Asuka's next stop was
Cairns, Australia, however, it is hoped PNG could become a regular stop-over
with the success of this first trip to Madang.  
World Expedition visits PNG
JANUARY saw a boom in tourist numbers following three major visits including the TCS World Expedition on January 7. More than 88 wealthy American tourists plus TCS staff and crew arrived in Port Moresby aboard a private Boeing 747 for the two-day stop-over which included visits to the majestic Sepik River and the fascinating Tari basin. The 23-day around the world expedition also included stops in Cusco & Macchu Picchu in Peru; Easter Island in Chile; Apia; Western Samoa; Great Barrier Reef, Australia; Angkor, Cambodia; Kingdom of Bhutan; The Taj Mahal and Fatchour Sikri, India; Sarengeti Plains, Tanzania; and Madeira in Portugal. Trans Niugini Tours was the ground operator here and of course, PNG was once again the highlight of the expedition according to TCS scout Marcus Wood. Mr Wood spent few extra days in PNG traveling to Kirriwina in Milne Bay and Tufi in Oro Province assessing these two locations for possible inclusion on the "Peoples of the Pacific Expedition". Peoples of the Pacific is a new tour package being developed by TCS and should be available to tourists after one and a half years. The TPA is hopeful that more PNG destinations can be included on the TCS world expeditions in future. The TCS World Expedition was followed by the visit of two Japanese cruise ships - The Peace Boat and the Asuka.
New Adventures in
Paradise
ONE of
Australia's largest cruise companies has included Papua New Guinea in
a new package titled "New Adventures in Paradise" saying "this
promises to be one of the best adventure cruises in the world". North Star
Cruises based out of Broome in Western Australia will use its luxury new AU$12
million dollars state of the art cruise ship True North to take clients
snokelling, fishing, and enjoying cultural activities in the magical islands
of Milne Bay; to the fjords of Tufi; then onto Rabaul including
taking tourists on a helicopter ride over the active vocanoes and then its on to
pristine Madang and a visit inland to Goroka and the home of the Asaro
Mudmen. Clients will be flown from Cairns to Alotau on the company's dash 8
aircraft before boarding the luxurious True North for their new adventures
in paradise. Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority Board chairman Sasa
Zibe and marketing manager Jim Yomapisi were invited guests at the official
launch of the True North in Perth on February 5. The 50m, 36 passenger True
North replaces the former 34m vessel of the same name. The AU$12
million dollars also represents the single largest investment in Western
Australia's marine tourism industry and is primed to benefit PNG tourism. Full
itinirary for the 'New Adventures in Paradise' will be coming soon to the
website: www.northstarcruises.com.au PNG - tourism hot spot
PAPUA New Guinea has been singled out as a tourism 'hot spot' for 2005 by The Sun-Herald newspaper's Travel magazine in Australia under the heading 'What's Hot in 2005 - Get there before the in-crowd. PNG was listed among 10 exotic and adventurous countries including Sabah in Borneo, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Estonia, Laos and Tunisia. Writer Michael Gebicki writes 'you've read about the travel must-see, but how about the soon to be fashionable places?', describing PNG as "one of the most extraordinary places on earth." The newspaper on January 30, then named PNG among 20 exotic destinations including Venice as the 'ultimate wish list of must-see destinations.
Investment meeting successful
AROUND 15 Letters of Intent (LoI) have been signed between Papua New Guinea tourism project proponents and overseas investors, partners and brokers at the recently concluded investment conference in Fiji. Although the Letter of Intent is not a legally binding document, it reflects the interest registered by the partners, investors and brokers in the respective PNG tourism projects as presented by each proponent. Following the signing, both parties (investor & project proponent) will communicate directly with each other for possible visits to respective project sites and will collectively make a submission to Pro-Invest for the 50,000 Euro to carry out feasibility and other studies before the investor can commit. PNG was represented by 14 project proponents at the Tourism Investment Conference and Partnership Meeting in Nadi, Fiji, from January 1 - 4, 2005.
30th anniversary logo
launched
Papua New Guinea is bracing for a year of festivities and celebrations in this its 30th Anniversary of Independence. Foreign Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu launched the 30th anniversary logo on February 2 with the theme 'Put PNG First', which is also repeated in the two main languages here Tok Pisin 'Putim PNG Igo Pas' and Motu 'PNG Atoa Guna'.
Major cultural and sporting events are planned across this country of 800
different languages to celebrate Independence Day. chairman of the National
Events Council Sir Peter Barter also announced that PNG would be playing host to
three major regional meetings. These are the 16th Melenesian Spearhead Group
meeting in Goroka in August, the 36th Pacific Islands Forum leaders
meeting in September in Port Moresby and the 5th South Pacific Tourism
Conference and Ministers meeting also in Port Moresby from October 18 -
21. Sir Peter says the government will see to it that PNG hosts these
gatherings to the best of its ability to gain social and economic benefits.
Papua New Guinea gained political independence from Australia on September 16,
1975. The 30th independence anniversary logo can seen at the top of this
newsletter.
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Air Niugini records
growth
Papua New Guinea's national airline Air Niugini has
announced recording a strong passenger growth in both its international and
domestics flights in the last quarter of 2004. In a statement, the airline
said it saw a 10.3 per cent increase in domestic passenger carriage and a
7.5 per cent increase in international passengers compared
to passenger traffic figures for 2003. Air Niugini attributed the increase
to continuing recovery in the domestic economy and increase in international
tourists. It said the international growth reflected initiatives in the European
and Japanese markets. Air Niugini also sells Papua New Guinea through seven
wholesalers in Australia and has recently appointed a General Sales Agent in
Italy, joining the existing GSAs in London, Stockholm, Moscow and Frankfurt. It
also hopes to have GSAs in Paris and either Poland or Hungary by the middle of
this year.
ANZAC Pilgrimage to kokoda
Is Kokoda Track
overtaking Gallipoli as the 'must-do pilgrimage for Australians? This is the
question that is begining to ring loud in media circles following more
publicity in Australia on the historical 96 kilometer track that is becoming a
tourism icon for Papua New Guinea. More and more Australians are now being
encouraged to make the pilgrimage up north to Kokoda rather than Gallipoli,
given its close proximity and historical war significance to Australia.
While the trekking season starts late March, more than 2000 visitors are
expected on the track in 2005. In fact, most tour companies are fully
booked for the ANZAC trek which culminates with the ANZAC Day dawn service at
the Bomana War Memorial on April 25. Another dawn service is also being planned
for high up at the Isurava Memorial on April 25 with some popular Australian
sports personalities expected to attend. According to the Kokoda Track
Auhority, some 2000 people walked the Kokoda Track in 2004 including 1181
tourists, whom the KTA issued track permits. This figure does not include those
who obtained permits from the Australia based Niugini Holidays Group, although
several requests by TPA to provide figures from May 2003 were not answered. For
more information on trekking the Kokoda Track visit our website: www.pngtourism.org.pg
2005 Canoe Festival Launch
The 2005 Kundu & Canoe Festival will be
formally launched at the Napatana Lodge in Alotau on February 19.
To be staged again at the Alotau Market wharf from November 5-7, the 2nd
Kundu & Canoe Festival is promised to be even bigger and better
than last year's inaugural festival. Activities on the day will
include sailing, paddling, traditional dances, Trobriand cricket, arts and
crafts exhibitions, canoe sales, food stalls and string bands. Visit: www.milnebaytourism.gov.pg for more
details or to check other exciting events in Milne Bay in 2005.
Angabanga Conquered
Fuzzy
Wuzzy Expeditions and Kokoda Spirit just keep on opening up new whitewater
rafting adventures. On January 23, they conquered the "Crazy Bucking
Bull Rapid" of the raging Angabanga River in Central Province. The "Crazy
Bucking Bull Rapid" is a short punchy rapid, a nerve wrecking sudden drop
at the end of a 500m stretch of major rapids that twist and turn through these
gorgeous canyon, rising and falling. Wayne Watherall of Kokoda Spirit
described it as "whitewater rafting in its finest form". Once again master
raft man Bonny Bogajiwai of Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions led this exploration trip to
open up Angabanga for commercial whitewater rafting. Kokoda Spirit and Fuzzy
Wuzzy Expeditions - apart from doing treks on the famous Kokoda Trail -
also take clients on the Vanapa River. For more information on
rafting or trekking email: kokodaspirit@bigpond.com
Seddon is PNGTIA President
THE Papua New Guinea Tourism Industry Association (PNGTIA) now has a fully constituted executive follwoing its first annual general meeting at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby on January 22. Hertz Rent A Car general manager Gary Seddon was elected president over Sepik Tours operators Alois Mateos. Other members of the executive include: Vilia Lawrence (PNG Dive Association - vice president); James Kruse (PNG Surfing Association - treasurer); Norri Maniana (Air Niugini Marketing - secretary); Dick Knight (Loloata Island Resort - committee); Gus Kraus (Airlines PNG - ccommittee); and Karen Davidson (Niugini Holidays, Cairns - committee). Mr Seddon said the meeting achieved two milestones - a TIA Constitution was adopted and executives elected to office. He said this shows that TIA is an important player in the PNG tourism industry and that the industry has a voice and not be controlled by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority and others.
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