SP identity

Travel

Promoting the SP identity

THE South Pacific will gain a stronger regional identity through joint New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tahiti

marketing activities.

A working committee has been estab lished in Los Angeles to look at closer tourism marketing cooperation, follow ing a meeting in Los Angeles attended by representatives of South Pacific National Tourist offices and major airlines serving

the region.

General Manager of the New Zealand Tourism Department Neil Plimmer said the aim w r as not to lessen individual marketing efforts, but to combine some resources of countries and airlines to better establish a “Destination South Pacific” in the minds of American travel agents and potential travellers.

North American view NORTH American retail travel agents only associated the South Pacific with Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tahiti, according to a Tourism Council of the South Pacific report based on survey work.

The survey found that the Cook Islands had improved the most in terms of recognition from the North American travel trade, with 14 per cent in

comparison with previous studies. Papua

New Guinea had a 10 per cent improve ment, Western Samoa eight per cent, Tonga seven, Solomon Islands six, and American Samoa five per cent.

Kiribati and Niue were associated with the South Pacific by less than three per cent of the travel agents. In terms of how r familiar the North American retail travel agents were with individual TCSP countries, they were “extremely” fam iliar with Tahiti 94 per cent, Fiji 93

per cent, Cook Islands 67, PNG 62 per cent, American Samoa 58 per cent, Solomon Islands and Tonga 50 per cent, Western Samoa 47, Vanuatu 23, Tuvalu 15 and Kiribati and Niue 12 per cent.

Special fare AIR Pacific has joined with Qantas to offer a special fare designed to stimulate the market from North America to the South Pacific in the wake of the Gulf War. The “Goodbye Fares” allow Am ericans who fly to Australia or New

Zealand from Los Angeles during April

to July to do so for SUSB99 round trip.

From Hawaii the fare will be $599.

Air Pacific’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Drysdale said Air Pacific carried 16,000 Americans to Fiji from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Al though the airline does not fly to North America, its marketing there and links to other Pacific destinations meant it car ried almost 25 per cent of Americans who travelled to Fiji ; he said.

Polynesian push THE Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has formed a Polynesian chap ter consisting of the Cook Islands, Tonga, American and Western Samoa, and French Polynesia.

Vice president, Pacific Division of PATA, lan Kennedy, said the islands of Micronesia had formed a chapter several years ago, and its success had inspired Tahiti to seek a similar format. He said that a chapter would combine the efforts of all members.

“As a collective group they will have more clout when they approach PATA for help in areas such as marketing. We can afford to do certain things for a group that we couldn’t do for an individual body,” he told Pacific Islands Monthly.

Solomons tax THE current financial situation in the Solomon Islands has led to the introduc tion of a departure tax of SSI2O for international flights. According to a Government statement the need to tighten up expenditure and improve revenue collection meant only excep tional cases would be considered for exemption from the tax.

The statement said sporting organis ations and churches will not necessarily be exempt. Top politicians, ministers, Members of Parliament, Diplomats, EEC Delegates, aircraft cabin crew, children under two years of age, transit passengers staying less than eight hours

and destitute passengers with the Minis ter’s approval are exempt.

Airport expansion More than 50,000 tourists are expected to visit the Solomon Islands each year after completion of the Henderson Air port major expansion and upgrading project. In the past, tourist numbers have averaged 10,000.

The airport project starts in July/ August and will include a new airport terminal, apron and carpark. Once the construction is completed, the airfield will be able to handle two 737 aircraft at any one time.

Funding for the project will come as part of the SUS 29 million provided under the EEC Lome four program for Solomon Islands. Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Victor Ngele, said the total airport development would cost about SUS2O million. He said Japan had also been approached for funding of other components of the airport develop ment.

Globalism prediction THE continuing refusal by governments worldwide to meet and agree to common licensing and certification requirements has been criticised by the director general of International Airlines Travel Association (lATA).

Speaking at a Association of South Pacific (ASPA) meeting in Noumea, Gunter Eser also predicted a continued increase in globalism and other alliances made “irresistable” with shared costs of marketing, maintenance and aircraft and fuel purchase.

He said according to lATA calcu lations, the international scheduled ser vices of lATA members lost at least SUS 2 million as a result of the Gulf War.

Recovery would be “painful” and “re tracted”, he said.

Nauru orders new jets AIR Nauru has ordered two new Boeing 737-400 aircraft which are scheduled for delivery in 1993. They will replace the existing 737-200 s. The aircraft will be built by Boeing to Australian Airlines’ specifications following an agreement under which that carrier will provide maintenance and engineering for the new fleet.

Air Nauru now flies to New Zealand, Micronesia, Fiji, Honiara and Manila.

The carrier will be reorganising its services to attract more people to use Nauru as a transit stopover between Micronesia and Australia and New Zealand.