Songs of Paradise

Vanuatu

By David Robie

HUARERE, one of Vanuatu’s most colourful and talented string bands, made their televi sion debut last year. The troupe fea tured in an independent New Zealand documentary called Niukilia Fri PasiFik with one of the title songs and it was also the first string band to become stars in a rock video.

In February Huarere were back in business on the TV screen in New Zea land and also wowing audiences in shopping malls and hotels around the country with their enchanting songs, dreadlocks and traditional costumes.

This time, along with the Beach Boys, they were the stars in a spectacular attempt to sell Vanuatu to the tourist market.

Billed as the “touch of paradise” road show and launched by Prime Minister Walter Lini, the two-week tour by both bands has probably done more for Vanuatu’s tourism image in the country than anything else since independence 10 years ago.

“Three years ago there wasn’t even a single brochure here pushing Vanuatu as a destination for tourists,” recalls Michael Johnson, a consultant for the Vanuatu National Tourism Office.

“There was one page in a general brochure about South Pacific destina tions but now we have five brochures marketing Vanuatu alone.”

According to Johnson, whose company Jet-Age Marketing handles Vanuatu’s image-building in New Zealand, the in troduction of Air Vanuatu’s weekly ser vices to Auckland last year were a major

step forward. Appointment of New Zealander Roger Hoskins as a tourism consultant in Vila last year also helped.

Behind Vanuatu’s “unspoilt” image is one of the more enlightened tourism policies in the Pacific, restricting de velopment to Efate, Espiritu Santo and Tanna islands in an attempt to keep ero sion of traditional culture to a minimum.

The road show, involving 29 ni- Vanuatu including National Tourism Office general manager Peter Taurako to, coincided with a major TV advertis ing promotion by Air Vanuatu. Its objec tive was to counter the legacy of negative press reports on the $2OO million de

vastation wrought by Cyclone Uma in

1987 and the abortive constitution coup the following year.

“New Zealanders were shown why Vanuatu is a good tourist destination, their awareness of the country was boosted and at the same time we edu cated travel agents,” says Johnson.

By the end of the fortnight, 25,000 free copies of a special newspaper, Vanuatu Vacationer had been distri buted; 700 travel agents had been briefed; and the Beach Boys and Hua rere had appeared on TV and radio talkback programmes and given a lot of print media exposure.

Among highlights were Maori bicultu ral events Huarere stayed on the Otara marae swapping songs and dances and a packed reception at the Hyatt

Kingsgate Hotel ending the promotion.

“No other Pacific nation has put on a show as impressive as the Hyatt gather ing 300 people, it was quite a buzz,” says Johnson. □

Huarere string band: a touch of paradise.