PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i

By Patrick Kaiku

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, April 1, 2009) – The National Goal and Directive Principle No. 3 calls on Papua New Guineans to develop and practise self-reliant living. It states that Papua New Guinean economic entrepreneurship "takes place primarily by the use of skills and resources available in the country, either from citizens or the State, and not through dependence on imported skills and resources".

With a predominantly subsistence based lifestyle, a complex land tenure system, and social organisations arranged along clan and tribal affiliations, utilising our existing ‘resources’ is one way of looking beyond the non-renewable sector.

One path that receives scant attention is ecotourism. If this sector is to become a major contributor to the economy – particularly beyond the commodity prices boom – significant investments must be made as a matter of national development priority.

What is ecotourism?

Ecotourism is a service intensive activity that encourages participation by grassroots people in their local communities. It is defined as ‘nature-based tourism which directly assists in conserving natural resources’.

The Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as ‘responsible travel to areas which conserve the natural environment and sustain the well-being of local people’.

Integral in ecotourism are ‘cultural exchanges’ between hosts and visitors. With indigenous knowledge and practices of traditional societies appreciated for their role in the conservation of natural environment and sustainable development, more promotion of ecotourism is imminent, particularly in line with global initiatives on climate change and environmental sustainability. Countries such as Costa Rica have exemplified the capacity for communities to pursue responsible ecotourism through natural resource conservation.

Ecotourism is also known as ‘direct tourism’ because the services are provided directly to tourists. The services that ecotourism provides basically involves an ‘entertaining’ or ‘learning’ experience.For example, those people who want to enjoy the outdoors and experience local cultures may find Papua New Guinea an ideal holiday destination to visit and spend their leisure time and money. We are often reminded by policy makers and tourism experts that

Papua New Guinea has a comparative advantage in terms of its natural biodiversity and sociocultural complexity.

The challenges for ecotourism

Since independence, the mining and petroleum sectors have continued to receive high priority from successive national governments. These sectors rely heavily on foreign capital inputs and less on the usage of local skills and resources.

This has led to problems such as unemployment, rural to urban drift, and a lack of indigenous participation in national economic activities.

Also, the wealth that is derived from the industrial sector only benefits a few political elites, or is ‘pilfered’ by opportunistic chairpersons of landowning groups, or other resource-owner associations.

For economic participation to be realistic, the windfall gains from the current high commodity prices should to be diverted towards the economic infrastructure that supports broad-based economic participation.

Economic infrastructure is the ‘construction, operation, and renovation of physical structures that provide a platform for most economic activities’, including telecommunications, electricity, water and waste services, roads, public works programs, sea ports, airports, and shipping and aviation services.

In the aviation industry, the recent announcement of a joint venture arrangement between two airline companies heralded predictions by travel industry experts of a boost in international tourism. Conversely, the domestic airline market has to meet the demands of efficient travel. Recently, Milne Bay tourism was buoyed by the announcement that the Virgin Blue will be flying the Port Moresby-Gurney route.

Funding tourism operations

The capital market; that is, financial lending institutions are beyond the reach of village-based tourism operators.

In any approach that assists the Government and financial institutions, there is a need for consensus on how best to meet the commercial interests of these lending institutions, while fulfilling community obligation initiatives.

The National Development Bank (NDB) has diversified its operations to include the provision of loans to local tourism operators.

In recent weeks, the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (PNGTPA), in collaboration with the NDB, gave some K275, 000 [US$98,000]to three applicants around the country, under their tourism credit facility.

However, this has been criticised because of NDB’s stringent policies regarding the accessibility of loans by most grassroots tourism operators.

The NDB should understand that Papua New Guinean communities have no tourism or travel behaviour in their social structure.

Consequently, commercial loans cannot be easily recouped from local operators, if losses become a commercial inevitability.

In spite of their enterprising spirit, most indigenous ecotourism operators, have little understanding of the market dynamics of the tourism industry.

The Government can assist by encouraging joint venture partnerships through the provision of tourist facilities and services with established tourist operators.

For example, a Peruvian Native Community of Infierno (NCI) entered into an agreement with their business partners, Rainforest Expeditions (RFE), with the signing of a legally binding contract to begin building and comanaging Posada Amazonas.

The joint venture partners agreed to split profits 60 per cent – to the community, and 40 per cent to the company, and to equally share the management costs.

A critical feature of the agreement was that community members would be actively involved in the enterprise, not only as staff,

but also as owners, planners, and administrators.

Further, th ey should join RFE in making decisions about the future of the company, as well as providing services for tourists.

The partners also agreed that, after 20 years, the entire operation – the lodge and everything in it – would belong to NCI, and the community members would become sole proprietors and managers.

Barriers to tourism

Other challenges are the attitude towards visitors and law and order problems. Both factors fuel the bad image that PNG has – particularly in Western countries. Given that Papua New Guinean products cannot be consistently marketed overseas by foreign missions or industry representatives, the media and information communication technology that are readily available to the potential consumer are the primary sources of information through which people learn about PNG.

Investment in broadband internet facilities and rolling out such facilities to resorts, eco-lodges, and other similar entities will be beneficial for firsthand communication with ecotourists.

Sir Peter Barter recently suggested that the PNGTPA which consider marketing tourism in individual provinces, given the international image problem that the country faces.

The PNGTPA can identify model provinces that have fewer law and order problems, or are sufficiently endowed with the infrastructure to cater for tourists, and can market those venues.

This initiative would preferably need the input of provincial tourism boards and provincial tourism policy planners.

However, one common element is the lack of commitment and responsibility from the provincial tourism officers.

Because they are paid by the provincial government, they give very little time to the projects and initiatives which the PNGTPA identifies for the advancement of tourism in their respective provinces.

Moreover, the politically appointed tourism board has a limited sense of ownership concerning the national government’s initiatives for the province that are channeled through the PNGTPA.

Patrick Kaiku was formerly a Project Research Officer in the Social and Environmental Studies Division at the National Research

Institute, and is currently an East West Center graduate fellow at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier: www.postcourier.com.pg/

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