EU project to boost Pacific’s tourism - The region seeks to fulfil its potential

A four-year European Union-funded project is targeting increased visitors, foreign exchange and jobs for the Pacific states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of countries. Financed under the regional budget of the 10th European Development Fund (2008-2013), the ‘Pacific Regional Tourism Capacity Building Programme’ is due to lift off before the end of 2011.   

Tourism is one industry the region’s countries have in common. Many of the islands are increasingly dependent on tourism but this could be boosted further, say EU officials. For the Cook Islands, the industry generates ninety per cent of foreign exchange and 50 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Tourism is now the leading income earner for Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu, according to EU officials, and is increasingly important to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, promising jobs and improved living standards in remote areas where it is difficult to start up any other sort of enterprise.

In their Business Plan 2010-2012 for the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the region’s tourism ministers spelt out that, “tourism will inspire sustainable economic growth and empower the Pacific people”. The SPTO, the body with the mandate for marketing and developing tourism in the region, comprises thirteen country members and over 200 private organisations.

It is not the first time that the EU has pledged funds to the sector in the region and the new programme will build on previous ones.

Three-pronged programme

The project will focus on three areas; regional policy development and coordination, regional and national market research and building human resources.

Workshops will be held to bring Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), who make up the majority of tourism operators in the region, and government authorities together. The programme will also strengthen collation and analysis of regional and national tourism data. Pacific Aviation and South Pacific Cruise Shipping strategies will be drawn up as well as a revised Regional Tourism Strategy for 2014 and beyond.  

Improved market awareness is another aspect of the programme. This includes tourism research by regional and national bodies and internet marketing and increasing skills for e-marketing at both regional and national levels. The programme’s third prong is all about boosting human resources for the sector through vocational training, scholarships and temporary overseas attachments

EU officials emphasis tourism’s potential to alleviate poverty in the region. Six of the region’s nations are classified as Least Developed Country (LDCs). Tourism is seen as an alternative to other industries such as unsustainable logging and mining, points out the EU’s document.

Main arrivals are from Australia and New Zealand (over 50 per cent of total arrivals in 2008) with North America and Europe making up a further 30 per cent, while Japan and Asia together account for about nine per cent. The rest of the visitors come from Pacific and other countries.

Find out more on: www.delfji.ec.europa.eu
www.spto.org

Debra Percival