Tonga Tourism Week Venue Commissioned
The Fa’onelua Convention Centre in Nuku’alofa was commissioned Thursday in a ceremony attended by Her Majesty Queen Halaevalu Mata’aho. The new Centre is next to the recently renovated International Dateline Hotel, providing Nuku’alofa with excellent facilities for international conferences. south-pacific.travel and Tonga Ministry of Tourism, with ProInvest support, will be running workshops at the new Centre October 24-26 on Poverty and Tourism, Cruise Shipping, and Green Tourism. Click here for details, or email emorrel@south-pacific.travel to register. (Photo: Recently appointed Tonga Director of Tourism Edgar Cocker at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre commissioning Thursday).

Tahiti's New Tourism Minister Wants to Focus on ‘Baby Boomers’
Marc Collins, Tahiti's new tourism minister, wants to focus on all types of visitor markets, particularly "baby boomers". "I want us to professionalize tourism. The entire product range must be developed, not only the upmarket or the honeymoon market," said the 41-year-old Collins. He was one of 16 ministers appointed Tuesday in the new French Polynesia government of pro-independence party leader Oscar Temaru. "Today, it's the baby boomers who have the biggest buying power, and those are the ones we must bring here," said Collins. He also has the portfolio of international airline transportation. For more information, click here. (Source: Tahiti Presse 19 September 2007)

WHL Launches Travel Network in 40 Countries
Worldhotel-link.com Limited (WHL) have announced the launch of its network of travel sites (www.whl.travel) in over 70 destinations in 40 countries, including China and India. The sites are catering to those wishing to travel “off the beaten track” and who are tired of the “fast food” travel options being offered by most online service providers. Increasing numbers of independent travellers are heading for emerging destinations in search of an authentic experience, but have not been well served by the mainstream travel market. WHL has set out to change this with local partners on the ground in each destination they service. “So far, most of the accommodation and activities mentioned in guidebooks like Lonely Planet, have not been bookable online.” said Len Cordiner, Sydney based CEO of WHL. “Our new network not only gives travellers a choice of interesting accommodation and activity options, but it also gives them a more personalized way of connecting with the locals and the place.”  WHL, a private company, originated from a project sponsored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, to help local, interesting and unique travel service providers in the developing world gain access to global markets. WHL is committed to sustainable tourism and putting more new interesting experiences within the travellers reach, particularly those that enhance the character of the destination being visited: food, aesthetics, culture, heritage, and environment. WHL encourages travelers to get involved in “Caring for the Destination”. WHL is also working on ways to profile local climate change initiatives such the Plant a Tree Today (PATT) initiative in Laos, as well as ways to improve the traveller experience by integrating grassroots business, such as township B&Bs in South Africa, and community initiatives. (Source: WHL Press Release 18 September 2007)

Samoa Hotels Association Launches New Look Website
The Samoa Hotels Association has launched a new look travel and accommodation booking website that is specifically targeted at independent travellers, with the aim of attracting more of these types of tourists to Samoa. The site (www.samoa-hotels.ws) is part of the WHL network (www.whl.travel). “Samoa is very hot right now in terms of travellers wishing to experience something a bit different.  Samoa’s mix of its unique living culture, beautiful beaches, warm tropical climate, and laid back atmosphere appeals to many free independent travellers looking for something a bit different.  The Pacific Islands are popular with many package deal tourists, but Samoa has its own unique offerings more suited to travellers who have “done” the rest of the islands.  It’s a perfect time for us right now to be targeting those independent travellers through the newly launched WHL site,” says Nynette Sass, CEO of SHA. (Source: Samoa Hotels Association)

Strategic Approach to Crisis Management
The need for a more strategic approach to risk and crisis management has been confirmed by recent events such as the forest fires in Greece, hurricanes in Central America, and the earthquake in Indonesia. While these events are challenges to travellers and the tourism sector, they also reflect the number and kinds of natural and man-made disasters which affect the world as a whole. Tourism authorities from Greece, Honduras and Indonesia informed UNWTO that recent events have not caused major changes in the schedules of travellers. While this reflects the resilience of the travel and tourism industry, it also underlines the need for a strategic and rapid response of the sector to the adversities. In an effort to further increase its response mechanisms, UNWTO has allocated additional resources and realigned its general Programme of Work for the years 2008/2009 to help better face these challenge. The creation of the Tourism Emergency Response Network (TERN), simulation exercises, and the establishment of the dedicated website sos.travel, have all expanded the existing platform to counter the threat of human and man-made disasters that seem to challenge the world more and more. The Organization will be presenting its report on strengthening its crisis management activities for discussion at the forthcoming UNWTO General Assembly in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 22-29 November 2007, and hopes to receive full endorsement by its Members for its plans. (Source: UNWTO Press Releases 19 September 2007)

Tahiti Tourisme North America Announces Fall Promotion Campaign
The Tahiti Tourisme North America (TTNA) office has announced the launching of a fall "co-op tactical/awareness campaign" called "Why Dream in Color" that "is designed to help respond to the current economic situation of the United States". Acknowledging that "Tahiti arrivals from North America have been lagging for 2007", TTNA said the main factor is a U.S. economy facing significant challenges. Besides helping to respond to the economic situation, the "Why Dream in Color" campaign is also aimed at "American consumers who are seeking . . . Even higher 'value-for-money'. In its latest advertising partner update, the TTNA explained: "We are hopeful that by providing additional value through the Free MAP program used in this campaign, which was conceived and initiated through the collaborative efforts of our partners: Air Tahiti Nui, Air Tahiti, our Tahiti hotel partners and our preferred Tour Operator partners, the MAP program will help to address the 'value-for-money' issue in the marketplace." The goal, the e-mail newsletter stated, "is to re-stimulate the market for Tahiti resulting in a renewed booking momentum for Tahiti's low season October 2007-March 2008". For more information, click here. (Source: Tahiti Presse 15 September 2007)

Region must be Savvy to Attract Chinese Tourists
The head of the Pacific's China trade office says the region must be market-savvy about attracting the lucrative Chinese tourist. The head of mission at the Pacific Islands Forum trade office in China, Rohan Ellis, says the Pacific can benefit from attracting the niche, high-end Chinese tourist market. Click here for more information (Source: Pacific Beat News 14 September 2007)

Media Workshop Opportunity for south-pacific.travel Members
Members of south-pacific.travel who are either visiting Auckland or living in Auckland are invited to attend ‘Pitch it To Me’, a media training workshop. ‘Pitch it To Me” provides tourism operators with the practical tools to appeal to the busy travel media in Australia.  It has been developed and devised by successful Australian based freelance journalist, Rachael Oakes Ash. Ms Oakes Ash delivers a half day workshop packed with practical tips on how to effectively reach the Australian travel media.  She has already delivered to full houses through three Regional Tourism Organisations in New Zealand.  One of the participants at Destinations Queenstown’s workshop, Julie Jolly from the CROWNE PLAZA had this to say, “I really enjoyed this morning, thank you. It was extremely beneficial to hear expert advice from yourself & from a journalists' point of view!  This tuition, advice and expert recommendations will be instrumental in the management of our media contacts and consultants, ultimately directly benefiting business and the Queenstown destination”. Enhance PR learned of Rachael’s workshop and could see the benefits it could offer to attendees and decided to bring Rachael to New Zealand to deliver workshops in Christchurch, Rotorua and Auckland.  “Effectively reaching the desks of travel editors to profile a tourism business can be the best marketing money spent,” says Trish May from Enhance PR. ‘Pitch it To Me’ will be held at The Langham Hotel in Auckland on Thursday 4th October and Friday 5th October. The per participant fee is $NZD 320+ GST.  Full details can be found at www.enhancepr.co.nz (Source: May Communications and Marketing Limited)

south-pacific.travel welcomes intern student
south-pacific.travel welcomes Ms. Sissi March for a 4 month internship with the organisation. Sissi is from the Alpes in Northern Italy and is undertaking a bachelors degree course in Tourism Management at the Free University of Bolzano in South Tyrol. During her internship with south-pacific.travel, Sissi will be assisting the ICT and Planning Team with upcoming web development projects. She finds Fiji to be a very alluring destination so far because of the diverse cultures and the very friendly and helpful Fijian people. Sissi hopes to learn more about the dynamic tourism industry in the South Pacific and how south-pacific.travel contributes to the marketing and development of tourism in the region. She adds that it would also be an ideal opportunity for her to improve her English and management skills.

south-pacific.travel membership update
south-pacific.travel welcome 2 more new members:
1. Ulumani Rainforest Lodge - located in the Alotau, Milne Bay Province, PNG. With a relaxing and quite environment, Ulumani Rainforest Lodge offers accommodation styles in a single bedroom or fully self contained bungalow unit.  For more information visit their website:  www.pngbackpacker.com  
2. Sustainable Tourism International (STI), a registered company in Fiji offers specialized services as Tourism Project Managers, Training Advisers and Business Consultants.  STI is dedicated to the principles of sustainable tourism development, particularly authentic ecotourism and community based tourism as a tool to enhancing cross-cultural awareness, development and delivering training and education programs, better environmental protection of natural resources and an improved quality of life through social and economic development. For more information, contact them via e-mail hydegeoff@hotmail.com  
Contact our Private Sector Membership Manager on e-mail rdrekeni@south-pacific.travel for more information on south-pacific.travel’s private sector membership programme and its associated benefits

Explore PNG with Trans Niugini Tours
Papua New Guinea - an exciting land of colour and splendour. Huge rivers cutting their path to the ocean through mountain ranges over 4,000 meters (14,000 feet). There is much, much more than meets the eye in this exotic and exciting destination. But how does one discover and learn about this fascinating corner of spaceship earth? Trans Niugini Tours is one of PNG's oldest and is PNG's most trusted tour operator. Trans Niugini Tours own and operate six wilderness lodges throughout the country, from the Tari Valley to the Sepik Basin, from Madang to the Wahgi Valley and pride themselves on providing insight into some of PNG's 800 odd cultural-linguistic groups, while affording comfortable accommodation and delicious meals. There is no more comfortable or safer way to experience Papua New Guinea, than with Trans Niugini Tours. For travellers who are looking for something exciting and different why not take a journey to Papua New Guinea? And explore this enchanting country with Trans Niugini Tours. For more information visit their website - http://www.pngtours.com/