Some PNG tourists are real,

and some are not

There is a difference between short term and real tourists, according to the Papua New Guinea Minister for National Development, Mr Gavera Rea, who explained it all recently.

He announced also that tourist figures for the country were up in 1973—the number of short term visitors, at 43,594, being down 0.3 cent on the 1972 figure, while the number of “real” tourists rose by 18 per cent from 18,516 in 1971 to 21,925 in 1973.

The definition “short term” tour ist had been adopted by the United Nations and was applied in PNG, Mr Rea said. It included anyone who travelled, for any reason, to an other country for any period be tween one day and one year. In PNG, it would include children of PNG residents returning from schools in Australia, and people entering for short term employment, business reasons or sporting events, plus the normal tourist visiting PNG on holidays.

He explained the drop in short

term visitors to the fact that fewer people were going to PNG for short term employment.

Mr Rea did not say what real tourists were, but presumably they are people who visit PNG for longer than the “normal” tourist holiday.

The fact that the number of real tourists increased in the two-year period, indicated something—maybe that there is growth in the PNG tourist industry.

The Minister said the PNG government was aware of the econ omic benefits which could flow from tourism, but it was determined that the country would not suffer the associated cultural and other dis advantages that had happened else where.

“A government mission has been appointed to examine the tourist in dustry in several nearby countries so that the government can then guide the future development of the tour ist industry to the greatest benefit of Papua New Guinea”, Mr Rea said.