More money needed from Gov to market Vanuatu overseas: Private sector

The private sector says Government needs to pump more money into marketing Vanuatu overseas.

This position was put to the National Trade Development Committee at the NTDC’s second meeting for the year by a representative of the Vanuatu Hotels and Resorts Association (VHRA).

He first spoke about the recent Private Sector Report on tourism.

He said the overall concept was that more money must be raised to market Vanuatu more abroad.

“Vanuatu is falling behind in how much money is being spent in our core markets in attracting visitors to Vanuatu,” he added.

“The Private Sector supports the review of the private sector funding, but would also like to see more funding provided by the Government to fund international marketing,” he said.

“This should be done in conjunction with the organizational review of the private sector levy and the establishment and role of the National Tourism Association.”

The Vanuatu Hotels and Resorts Association representative then spoke about the new Vanuatu Tourism Infrastructure Project (VTIP) facility.

He spoke about how impressive the new seafront looks, but said that he was disappointed at the lack of management plan.

He then went on to talk about the new markets in China, and cautioned that whilst there is a lot of potential in this new market, the Government must make sure that it does not neglect the core markets.

The Accreditation Process for Tourism Operators is a good operation. However, there are issues with bus drivers who think that they are now qualified to operate a tour.

He called on the Department of Tourism (DoT) to clarify the situation with the bus drivers, to ensure there is no confusion.

The General Manager (GM) of the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO), responded to some points saying once the organisational review is complete, this will require an amendment of the VTO Act and the Tourism Act of Vanuatu, to ensure that the private sector will provide funding to support VTO for destination marketing.

This review is currently on hold, and will require the Ministry of Tourism, Trade, Cooperatives and ni-Vanuatu Business to take it forward.

“Increased spending on tourism marketing would pay for itself, as the tourists would bring in lots of money to Vanuatu, which can then be spent on other areas. This is based on the figures from the Tourism Recovery Program,” the VTO GM said.

The representative of New Zealand High Commission said he was encouraged by the work which VSTAP has done to date.

He noted the request for further aid which the recommendations called for, but said that New Zealand cannot fund everything. He added that tourism is a very broad sector, and so they are calling on other donors to provide support.

He also expressed concerns about the management of the VTIP facility, which is soon to be officially handed over to the Government of Vanuatu.