Creating a unique image

Tonga is bubbling beneath the surface and it is not just its blow holes that is causing this. Tourism too is causing some

effervescence in this normally quiet land.

It is nothing you can put your finger on immediately when you arrive in the,

slow-paced, olde worlde atmosphere of Nuku’alofa but it is definitely there.

There are not the throngs of tourists that Hawaii has or the numbers Fiji experi ences but the odd Japanese or European face in the crowd shows promise it is not unusual to meet an Austrian or Swede.

Perhaps things are best explained in the words of Royal Tongan Airlines general manager, Christian Kaltenborn- Stachau. “I feel Tonga has a lot to offer.

Mind you it should never try to become a second Hawaii or a second Fiji for that matter. It should develop what makes it so special, so different to other places. I don’t think it should go into mass tourism. That would require infrastruc ture which just isn’t there to begin with.

“Develop what we’ve got. I think Tonga is superb because of its cultural background, it is the only remaining Kingdom of Polynesia. It should point to the sports activities possibly here, Tonga has one of the best fishing waters in all of the Pacific deep sea fishing seems to be one of the things of the future, same goes for snorkelling and diving.”

While the tiny island kingdom can’t boast the visitor numbers of neighbour

Tonga; blow holes at Houma, Tongatapu

Fiji, it can at least proudly show a 20.8 per cent increase in tourist arrivals for the 1990/91 period. For the period Tonga was in the minority of regional countries that showed an increase in tourist arrivals during a time affected by recession in many major tourism mar kets.

Another bright light for Tonga is that North America and Europe accounted for a great part ofTonga’s tourist arrivals last year two markets which, accord ing to tourism pundits, will be important for the future of South Pacific tourism.

Out of a total of 21,524 visitors to Tonga last year 5283 came from North America and 3570 came from Europe. This compares with 3444 from Australia.

Perhaps Tonga’s tourism picture can

be put into better perspective when the country of 696.71 sq km and a popu lation of around 100,000 is compared to Papua New Guinea. For 1991 PNG recorded 39,051 visitors compared to Tonga’s 21,524. Taking it even further, the Solomon Islands last year had 11,105 tourist arrivals (although this was an increase of 1910 from 1990 s figure of 9195).

In and around Nuku’alofa there are signs that tourism is considered import

ant for the future, from the new airport terminal to the many sign boards advertising tours to the TSI million plus refurbishments at the Ramanlal Hotel.

About a 10-minute boat ride from the capital, the Pangaimotu Island resort is looking at major upgrading including new cottages and a golf course, to attract visitors particularly from Japan.

Away from Nuku’alofa the Hapai and Vava’u groups are ideal for yachts and already attract a number of international yachtsmen. Two large international companies offering yachts for hire are setting up shop in Vava’u. One will have 36 yachts while the other is talking about 18, ranging in length from 36 to 58 feet.

“Consider that each yacht will take about five people and now we have 54 yachts at five people each that is like a fairly large sized hotel. Most yacht people come for one week only so that turnover could keep our Twin Otters

flying to Vava’u quite busy,” said

Kaltenborn-Stachau.

“The South Pacific is big news in Europe right now. The European tourists have been all over Europe, all over North America and South America. The Gulf region is off-limits for now, Africa is out of bounds and yes, the South Pacific, it

is,” he added.

“We understand that this route is a very profitable route and we have been given to understand that the travelling public would enjoy using a jet on that sector. We feel there is business for RTA in addition we would like to tape into the tourist market. Tourists coming to Fiji may very well like to see the Kingdom of Tonga which is so different from Fiji, it could be an add-on to a vacation there.”

Kaltenborn-Stachau is a German na tional seconded to Tonga as an aviation advisor to the government airline.

Royal Tongan Airlines (formerly domestic carrier Friendly Island Air ways) began international operations last November between Nuku’alofa and Nadi and Nuku’alofa and Auckland using a leased Solomon Airlines 737.

Although the leg to Nadi has been scrapped the Auckland service has proved viable and an important con nection along with the six flights a week between Nadi and Nukualofa by Fiji’s national flag carrier Air Pacific.

So while the tourism pot is not expected to boil over with crowds of visitors pouring into this tiny kingdom, it is definitely on a healthy simmer.