Kuman's viewpoint on tourism development - 20th Australia PNG Business Forum, Cairns

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Minster for Culture and Tourism, Nick Kuman is adamant that the tourism industry has huge potential for the economic development and growth of Papua New Guinea in the years to come.

During his presentation on the 20th Australia PNG Business Forum in Cairns, Australia, the minister told the participants that apart from promoting and marketing PNG as a tourist destination “we must develop our niche or provide a situation where a tourist can obtain quality, value for money and give a lasting impression of what other destinations cannot provide.”

“It is in this aspect that our strength lies in ecological tourism, sustainable tourism and cultural tourism – Eco Tourism,” he added.

He said this was intended to improve the hospitality and entertainment sector by instituting minimum standards on their products right across the industry.

“This is because while many in the hospitality sector have enjoyed maximum benefits from the inflow of tourists, many of our visitors are never really accorded the services they pay for in the first place,” minister said.

A regulatory mechanism will ensure there is value for money out there for the tourist, he said.

Marshall Lagoon in the Central province creates a perfect spot for tourists with its beautiful surroundings

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The theme picked for the forum “A partnership for Economic Renewal and Growth” said the minister, was very relevant to both Australia and Papua New Guinea where political leaders have forged new partnership to renew strategies and expand on bilateral relations.

The minister said the National Government has established a National Tourism Strategy committee to develop strategies and action plan to realize national policies.
He said: “The principle objective of the policy and strategic plan was to further strengthen the industry, especially our marketing and promotion capacity and to remove obstacles and to improve the products.”

Mr. Kuman stated that its ministry is currently involved in working towards a certification and standards system to rate the whole tourism industry whereby its implementation will give PNG a personal scorecard of its status.

“Based on this scorecard we can go out and aggressively promote our products to niche markets in Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, the United States and other markets,” he added.

However, he stressed that there were still many impediments to tourism in the country but efforts were made at ministerial level to iron out these impediments.

Clear Water Lagoon - Manus Province

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“I want to emphasis that tourism can be sustainable can bring in foreign reserves for the country.

“My ministry’s vision and mission statement and priority is to foster the development of tourism in Papua New Guinea so as to maximize the economic benefits of the industry to Papua New Guinea while at the same time minimizing any disruption to society, culture and the environment.

Mr. Kuman said that the government through its “Export Driven Economic Recovery Plan’ embarked on the development and promotion of the export industries and tourism and culture are such that will benefit from the policy.

“To benefit we have to continuously sell the country and its tourism products to the world and to put in additional resources into this and to venture into new markets,” he said.

The minister also took time to remind his Australian counterparts, of PNG’s richness in natural resources, unique landscapes, exotic sites and rich cultural diversity.

“PNG is blessed with abundant natural resources including its rich and varied heritage expressed in different art forms, dance traditions, ritual practices and over 800 different languages, each maintaining its uniqueness and vitality.

“Without any shadow of doubt Papua New Guinea holds great potential in the Tourism Industry in the world. We have some of the most beautiful natural sceneries in the world.

“We have thousands of kilometers of untouched beaches, some of the most stunning mountain and valley, complex but rich bio-diversity areas and nature parks. In addition and most importantly, we have rich, vibrant and living culture and art and thousands of archaeological and historical sites scattered throughout the country which bears witness to migration history of this nation,” Mr. Kuman said.

Kalibobo Lighthouse (Coastwatchers) - Madang province

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The government's objectives are: -

• to encourage investment in the tourism, hospitality and entertainment industries through Incentive Scheme.
• to promote Papua New Guinea both locally and internationally as a desired tourist destination
• to ensure availability of tourism products that meet market requuirements and to develop complementary products and services
• to expand the product base and increase the range and quality of consumer experiences consistent with the long-term maintenance of natural and cultural values in the country.
• To coordinate and liaise with relevant Departments, Agencies and stakeholders to ensure the industry is supported and promoted and more so has less negative impact on the society
• to ensure the introduction of certification and standards for effective and satisfactory operations of tourism and hospitality enterprises in the scountry and to provide value for money

]Marine resources - Tuna

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It is this scenario, Mr Kuman highlighted the government's progrtams and major undertakings, which are:

• Amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act that will facilitate coordination and implementation of the National Government Tourism Policy
• Provision of Tax Incentives and other Government Support to attract Investors and to enable the Industry to expand and grow
• Remove 'Visa Fee' for bonafide tourists and to appoint or utilize foreign mission employess to be Cultural Attaches to promote PNG culture and its tourism potential
• Establishment of Provincial culture and Tourism Offices and the introduction of standards in the entertainment and the hospitality industry
• Provision of industry training (AusAID has now provided funds)
• Liaison with the Department of Transport and Civil Aviation on infrastructure developmentand improvement and the introduction of international flights to thre or our airports in PNG
• Improvement to National Parks and Reserves to ensure PNG's diverse flora and fauna are maintained for domestic and international tourists
• Introduction of 'Tourist Police' and coordination with the law and order agencies to imporve the escalating image problem and to provide focused reports and to improve our people's attitudes towards tourists and visitors.

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Rigo Dancers - Central province