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PNG Tourism Workshops in Australia
PAPUA New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority is taking the PNG Experience to the Australian Market in August, 2006. Some 16 PNG tourism operators accompanied by our marketing team will conduct workshops for wholesalers, retailers, travel agents, and travel media. The workshops will be conducted at the Rydges Hotel in Melbourne on Aug 21, Sydney Leagues Club on Aug 22, Brisbane's Hilton Hotel on Aug 23 and Pacific International in Cairns on Aug 24. More than 150 participants have registered in each of the cities. The workshops aim to educate agents on destination PNG; to create an industry awareness of the destination; and to educate agents as to what the destination has to offer. With knowledge it is hoped that they will have confidence to sell PNG. Email: lou.bosman@png-tourism.com or visit our Australian website at www.png-tourism.com
American Tourists set to Invade PNG
A LARGE group of American tourists numbering more than 100 will arrive in Port Moresby aboard the cruise ship Endeavor at 0400 hours on August 28, 2006. They will exit from Port Moresby after cruising parts of the South Pacific and Papua New Guinea. Another 100-plus Americans will arrive onboard Air Niugini that morning to do Endeavor's backward leg of the cruise. The disembarking tourists will return back to the States on Air Niugini. The back-to-back cruises are being run by the US based Lindblad Expeditions Group and the National Geographic. Lindblad is a world leader in offering adventurous travel packages on small cruise ships to a variety of destinations around the globe including Papua New Guinea. Visit www.expeditions.com 
ET's second Baia Escape
ANDREW Ettinghausen - former rugby league great and host of the popular Escape with ET fishing show on the Nine Network in Australia - loves fishing in Papua New Guinea that he just keeps coming back for more. ET as he is affectionately known by fans, has enjoyed fishing at the Baia Sport Fishing Lodge that he has gone back there for the second time from Jul 23 - 30, 2006. He nailed a 60 pound yellow fin tuna in the deep blue seas near Baia. ET had caught a whooping 40 pound bass on his first trip to Baia in 2005 and he was looking forward to an even bigger catch this time round but it was not to be in the rivers around Baia. ET and his crew also went diving in Kimbe Bay from Walindi Resort, watched a local rugby league match and sang and danced with a local singsing group. Look out for the feature on "Escape With ET" to be aired on Nine soon.
Baia
Sport Fishing Lodge Beckons
BAIA Sport Fishing Lodge on the boarder of East and West New Britain Provinces is slowly but surely gaining popularity internationally as a top fishing location. Baia provides the best in deep sea and fresh water fishing. Nestled on the shores of Open Bay and facing the Bismarck Sea, Baia is a modern fishing lodge tucked away in the New Britain wilderness. Anglers looking for a fight with the biggest black bass, barramundi or spot tails should try Baia - you're sure to have the catch of your life. To get to Baia contact Riccard Reimann Email: scorpio@global.net.pg Phone: (+675) 983 5567 or Visit www.baiafishingpng.com 
Mount Hagen Cultural Show 2006
THE popular Coca Cola Mount Hagen Cultural Show will be held at its traditional Kagamuga show ground on Aug 19 & 20, 2006. This is the 45th annual show and expects to draw huge number of singsing groups from the highlands region and other parts of Papua New Guinea. Another show that is fast becoming popular is the Enga Cultural Show in neighbouring Enga Province. It was held last weekend. A popular attraction at the Enga Show was the Silimuli Dancers - made up of Enga's finest young girls handpicked from around the province and dressed in traditional attire to form one eye-catching dance troupe. For info on the Mt Hagen Show call (675) 5451254 or Email: maxkum@online.net.pg. Also Email: info@pngtourism.org.pg.
Aviation warning for Kokoda trekkers
THE Civil Aviation Authority of Papua New Guinea has raised concern that a growing number of trekkers in the past 12 months are boarding aircrafts with artifacts and ammunition of various calibers collected from the Kokoda Track. This is both unlawful and dangerous as ammunition is regarded by aviation as a dangerous good. Tour Operators must advise their trekkers to refrain from collecting and boarding aircrafts with these relics from World War 2 found along the famous track. The warning comes after a number of persons caught by Australian Customs, have had ammunition confiscated and have been fined for carriage of dangerous goods. CAA's Director of Aviation Security Division Andrew Scottney-Turnbill said carriage of ammunition within PNG aviation is also against the law and those caught can face imprisonment. PNG Tourism Promotion Authority has also raised the matter with the Kokoda Track Authority to advise tour operators to warn their trekkers.
Retracing their Hero's Steps
THE Holguin family from Los Angeles visited Papua New Guinea on a 'very special mission' to retrace the war services of their hero, Jose Holguin. Curt Holguin, his wife Edith Perez and their daughters' Kate Holguin (15 years old) and Ryan (11 years) always dreamt of visiting PNG as a pilgrimage to the memory of their father and grandfather, whose story has touched and enriched their lives. Jose Holguin was the navigator on the B-17E 'Flying Fotress' nicknamed "The Naughty but Nice" from 1942 - 1943 in PNG.
The bomber was shot down in New Britain with a handful of crew including Holguin surviving with a broken back and jaw. Although rescued and nursed to health by the local people, the Japanese found out and made him a Prisoner of War in Rabaul from 1943 until the end of the war in 1945. Jose went back to the States and became a teacher and returned to PNG several times to search for his plane in the 1980s. The nose section is today displaced at the Kokopo War Museum. Jose passed away in 1994. His family visited Rabaul and the Kokopo War Museum to pay tribute to his story.
SPTO has new CEO
THE South Pacific Tourism Organiation (SPTO) has a new Chief Executive Officer. He is Anthony Everitt who replaces Lisiate Akolo as head of the region's main tourism body. The SPTO Board in June appointed Mr Everitt who currently holds the position of regional manager Asia for Travel New Zealand based in Singapore. Mr Everitt says the South Pacific offers outstanding tourism resources in the same region as other growth markets. The revolution in travel driven by news media and new airline business models adds to these opportunities and effective coordination of strategies and programmes across the SPTO members will be important to reach the critical mass in this environment. SPTO chairman of directors Viliame Gavoka in welcoming Mr Everitt paid tribute to Mr Akolo who was CEO for six years for rebuilding SPTO from the brink of insolvency to a vibrant organisation today. Mr Everitt starts at the SPTO Office in Suva, Fiji on Oct 9, 2006.
PNG - That's Gold
MARIA Rainone from Melbourne based Adventure Travel Company has described her trip to Papua New Guinea as a "big bliss". Since arriving on July 18 on a familiarisation trip, Maria went scuba diving on Tufi's famous Cyclone Reef; gone sailing aboard the catamaran Imajica in Kavieng; visited local
markets & villages; lapped up the sand & surf at majestic Nusa
Isalnds Resort; went sightseeing in beautiful Rabaul; dived the colorful reefs
at Loloata Island Resort; and walked part of the historical Kokoda Trail from
Owers Corner to Imita Ridge with local tour company Fuzzy Wuzzy
Expeditions. "It's been fantastic. The best part is the friendly smiles
because I didn't expect the smiles. Everyone was keen to talk and share
stories," she reflected. Maria fell in love with the sandy white beaches of Tufi
and the neatly kept villages with their beautiful flowers. The seaside
market at Kavieng was also an eye opener. "They were selling interesting food
and crops and my God, I've never seen so many sweet potatoes in my whole life."
Adventure Travel Company has an up-market client base and sells tours to Asia,
France, Middle-East, South America and Antarctica. The company had 20 trekkers
on the Kokoda this year and she hopes that many more will come with
extensions to the beautiful spots in PNG that she has visited. 
Hot Spot
for July
NEATLY tucked away on the slopes slightly below the Airways Hotel poolside facing Jackson's International Airport is Spa Pua - Papua New Guinea's first and only health spa. Built in a tropical garden setting with a traditional PNG sago thatched roof and quality PNG timber frame, the atmosphere inside is very soothing and relaxing. Guests are served a cup of ginger & lime on arrival surrounded by the sounds of new edge music with lavender scented oil burners, exotic oriental aromas and antique art and artifacts. Spa Pua offers a range of holistic treatment for both male and female with every pampering or therapeutic service available from traditional Thai massages, Indonesian massage, Niugini massage through to complete half-day and full-day packages with steam, sauna, facials and body wraps. All luxy treatment use the world renowned Lydia Jordane product range. Spa Pua has highly trained international and local therapists to offer you personalised and effective skin and body programs. Spa Pua is our Hot Spot for July. For more info Email: spapua@datec.com.pg or Phone:
(675) 325 2277 or 324 5200 ext 326. 
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