Tourism
How To Sell The Region As A Terrorism-Free Destination
SPTO directors to discuss strategy
Strategy for selling the South Pacific as a terrorism-free travel destination will be debated by directors of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) at a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand this month. The board will discuss what response the South Pacific should make to the impact on world travel caused by the events in New York and Washington on September 11.
SPTO's executive director, Lisiate Akolo believes it should follow other tourism bodies in mounting some kind of a crisis counter-action. French Polynesia, heavily reliant on American visitors, has suffered a 25 percent drop in business. Air Pacific, one of the two main carriers of North American visitors to the Pacific Islands, had suffered a 30 percent hit on bookings for its Los Angeles service. But it hopes to maintain all three weekly flights. New Caledonia is also suffering. SPTO members and directors feel it should gather and act upon information from action committees set up by the Fiji, Cook Islands and French Polynesia visitor industries, "rather than doing something separate," Akolo says. "We are trying to consult our member countries and work with them to collect information and pass it on. "We should try to take advantage of the fact that the South Pacific may be seen as a haven in the sense that we are far south of the trouble." Akolo, talking to Pacific Magazine in mid November, said at that time the extent of the impact of the September 11 atrocity was not clear. "We don't yet really know the figures, but all the forecasts are that there will be a downfall in travel from America. "There is a blockage of tourists at Los Angeles which is one of the main gateways to the South Pacific. "Now Americans are looking inwards for domestic travel because of the problems of security and fear of flying time. The war in Afghanistan does not help either. It is the long-haul market that is being affected." Even prior to September 11, travel was being affected by signs of recession in the United States and elsewhere, and in the South Pacific by airline difficulties caused by the collapse of Ansett Airlines in Australia, and the financial crisis besetting Air New Zealand. "In trying to adapt to these events, we have to be very careful with open promotion of the South Pacific as a safe destination because it is a very sensitive issue at the present time," Akolo says. He believes that two imminent events offer the South Pacific global promotional opportunities in responding to challenges posed by the September 11 disasters.
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One is the location in French Polynesia early next year of the fourth of the Survivor series of programmes to be shown by the CBS television network. "Millions of people watch that programme and we could package images of the region not only to benefit French Polynesia, but the whole South Pacific." The other event is the premier in London in December of the first film in the Lord of the Ring series being made in New Zealand.
"Everybody is predicting that it will be a hit. I know New Zealand and French Polynesia are taking advantage of these events.
"While bigger properties and companies can afford to pay their own way many smaller ones cannot.
"It is getting to the stage that we will have to put a lot of imagination into what we are doing. The rules of the game have changed due to a number of events, even before September 11."
