Letters

Tourist Outrage

From The Times of PNG March 10-16, 1988 AS EIGHT visitors to PNG who were robbed between Baiyer River and Mt Hagen last week an event that went unreported in this coun try’s newspapers, like many other tourist victim crimes we are forced to answer “no” to the question, “Does PNG reason ably ensure the safety of its tourists?”

PNG’s greatest tourist attractions its rural scenery and peoples increasingly cannot be visited without worry of some crime being perpetrated. Yet while such guaranteed popular tourist spots such as the Baiyer River Sanctuary are ignored, the Government proposes a nearly K 1 million expenditure for Moresby’s Sea World, which offers a tourist attraction that both Australian and American tourists can view in their own lands at less cost. Is it any wonder that we can question the priorities in tourism related expenditure?

In the past week, we have experienced or learned: (1) the fear of being attacked by a dozen bandits armed with shotguns, rifles and semi-automatics, some with previous criminal records; (2) the indis putable assurance from a Mt Hagen po liceman that the road was safe and that we needed no police escort; (3) the finding from police reports that other robberies had taken place on that road only three days before our visit; (4) the loss and dam age of more than K7OOO worth of our property, much of it not insured; and (5) the finding that attacks on tourists are not rare, occur in many parts of PNG, both in cities and in rural areas, and sometimes produce far greater humiliation and harm than what we experienced.

Contemplating all these facts, we spent our last days in PNG in the recognition that tourists are not safe here, that the com pensation opportunities that PNG clans can use are not open to us, and that the criminals will usually remain free to con tinue their crimes.

Are these problems due to the budget?

Hardly. It would cost toea to post tourist advisories at the entrance to police sta tions, to override unknowledgeable police officers. It would cost far less than the ri diculous K 1 million Sea World proposed expenditure to conduct police escorts to all the proven tourist attractions.

Most of us leave this country with many newfound wantoks and the recognition that PNG has some of the world’s frien dliest people. But even these people have told us that nothing constructive is being done to protect tourists, and whatever we could do to warn other potential tourists even if it hurts PNG’s tourism industry should be done.

Clearly, tourists to this country are not going to receive reasonable guarantees of

their safety. We say enough is enough, and since the Government will not do any thing about this intolerable situation we will act. Until tourist safety can be guar anteed, potential visitors must be warned of PNG’s dangers.

On returning home, and armed with newspaper and police on past tourist crimes, we will approach the travel agency associations in the US and Australia and their respective embassies. It is time that official travel advisories were issued for this country. The PNG Government has complete freedom of choice in choosing whether it wants overseas visitors, but if it does, greater responsibility for their safety must be taken.

Since the Government has not taken action, we will.

Angry Tourists

Nicolaus Stephens Durham, California Larry Orsak Orange, California Joseph Somp Wau, PNG June Myles New York, NY Jack DeLong Lakewood, Colorado Thomas McNeill Valencia, California Jerry & Marjorie Ewers Denver, Colorado Greg Bachman Valencia, California

Kava The Real Story

IT WAS both pleasant and encouraging to read Nicolas Roth well’s article, “Kava: A Pacific Ritual” {(Pacific Is lands Monthly, February, 1988). Pleasant because it makes a welcome change to the negative media coverage kava has been re ceiving in recent years; and encouraging because at last the true story of kava per se is coming out in black and white.

And there is a lot of subtle but mean ingful authentic information about Vanu atu kava in the article that should be taken careful note of. Kava may be a Pacific pur suit at present but it is a commodity with a future whose potential is yet to be tapped.

But perhaps for one to fully appreciate it one needs to come in contact with it first hand, as Mr Rothwell has.

Meto Nganga General Manager Vanuatu Commodities Marketing Board