Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has stressed the need for the country?s tourism industry to embrace a ?low cost ? high impact? approach if it is to achieve its objectives in 2020.
Delivering the keynote address at the ?Low Cost ? High Impact - Solomon Islands 2020 Tourism in focus? forum at the Heritage Park Hotel, he said the marketing and promotion of the destination, especially in the key source markets, will continue to be a priority challenge to address.
?The challenge is due to limited funding resource allocation amidst many pressing priorities on the government.?
He applauded the ministry of culture & tourism, Tourism Solomons, Solomon Airlines and all stakeholders for the recent initiatives which have demonstrated cost-effective approaches to exposing the country?s tourism operators and their respective products to an international audience.
He also drew attention to the recent and highly successful combined Tourism Solomons/Solomon Airlines joint Australian advertising campaigns and the ?Mi Save Solo? tourism exchange which will once again take place in Honiara mid-year.
The prime minister acknowledged the support of the New Zealand government and the Australian government?s ?Strongim Bisnis? initiative which continue to provide the tourism sector with invaluable support.
Tourism Solomons CEO, Josefa ?Jo? Tuamoto said while the onus for 2020 would once again be on achieving even stronger overseas profile for the Solomon Islands, the NTO understood the need to work smarter and harder in order to ensure that every dollar spent on marketing returned a solid result.
Speakers at the event included the ministry of culture & tourism, the New Zealand high commission, the Australian high commission, Solomon Islands ports authority, Strongim Bisnis and representatives from Tourism Solomons and Solomon Airlines.
