Page 7 - IB April 2018

WE SAY

In many of our island nations indiscriminate development has ripped trees

from the hearts of our forests leading to landslides, siltation of rivers, discol-

ouration of the oceans and the slow, inevitable death of coral reefs.

Fiji remains the number one tourist destination in the Pacific region Photo: File

AS the South Pacific Tourism Exchange takes place in Adelaide for potential visitors. And in turn that means travellers must pay
this month, the region continues to chase visitor arrivals in an higher air fares and travel further to visit a tiny speck in the ocean.
increasingly competitive market. What, then, does the Pacific have to offer visitors if it is to
Provisional figures provided by the South Pacific Tourism Or- compete with cheaper markets?
ganisation show that there should have been 2.13 million visitors Most certainly pristine waters, perfect diving, fresh air and
to the region’s destinations in 2017. the sun.
Hoping for 100,000 additional visitors a year, the Pacific will But that might not be enough.
embark again on a series of roadshows throughout its main In many of our island nations indiscriminate development has
source markets – Australia and New Zealand – as well as Europe, ripped trees from the hearts of our forests leading to landslides,
North America and South-East Asia. siltation of rivers, discolouration of the oceans and the slow,
For the past two years the Pacific has tried to woo the Indian inevitable death of coral reefs.
middle class with additional flights through Singapore and Hong Increased consumerism and changing lifestyles have seen a rise
Kong. in the use of plastic as containers, packaging and bottles which
Fiji – which remains the number one tourist destination in the litter our cities, roads, beaches and streams.
Pacific region – has led that campaign using its national airline Which of the projected 2.2 million visitors to the Pacific in 2018
and expanding its horizons. wish to travel thousands of kilometres to travel along a road lined
But the truth is that only a small number of Fiji’s annual with waste, or to sit on a beach and swim in water turned brown
840,000 visitors will arrive from the sub-continent. by siltation from the river systems?
India’s fast-expanding middle class with a huge expendable In fact Solomon Islands – cited last year as having the clean-
income can find cheaper deals closer to home in Thailand, Hong est air in the world – saw a decrease in visitor arrivals. That is
Kong, Singapore or – indeed – Europe. perhaps due to the fact that the country does not have a strong
The flights from India to those destinations are shorter, hotels hotel plant infrastructure although huge efforts are being made
are often cheaper, the shopping choices wider and the service to address this situation.
superior to what is on offer in the Pacific. Vanuatu suffered losses in visitor numbers due to problems
If the bigger and more established regional markets like Fiji and with the runway at Bauerfield International Airport – its main
French Polynesia struggle to compete against these destinations gateway and damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam.
and the Maldives and Mauritius for Indian visitors, the rest of Palau saw a spike in arrivals on the back of a surge in Chinese
the Pacific has little chance if any at all. tourists, mainly visiting the diving spots.
The reality of the situation is that the Pacific is half a world But those numbers will be driven back as President Tommy
away from the destinations which are not already the feeder Remengesau takes a hard-line stand against the indiscriminate
markets to the region. littering of visitors from his country’s new allies.
Australia and New Zealand have started to grow their internal Palau has decided that preservation of the environment must
tourism industries, attracting their own people with cheap fares, come before growing the economy.
low hotel room rates and combination deals. It is a position Pacific countries must decide upon collectively
That means Pacific tourism must start to look further afield or individually.

Islands Business, April 2018 7