Tourism

Successive governments have identified tourism as a promising avenue for Papua New Guinea to diversify its economy away from a reliance on extractive industries. PNG’s biodiversity and rich cultural traditions offer a range of tourism opportunities that stand to be unlocked by improved infrastructure and effective marketing strategies. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country seemed poised to reap longer-term benefits from hosting the 2018 APEC Leaders’ Summit, which placed it under the international spotlight. Moreover, visitors who made the trip to PNG largely reported positively on their experiences: more than 90% of visitors in 2018 stated they would return. Tourism, however, is expected to be among the final industries to recover from the pandemic. When international travel picks up again, the challenge will be to make a wider range of destinations accessible, while also ensuring that they are protected from overdevelopment and environmental damage. This chapter contains an interview with Tony Honey, Owner, Tufi Resort.