Penama Tourism Consultation & Awareness
The Department of Tourism’s community awareness team are in Penama Province this week carrying out awareness on the Tourism Crises Response and Recovery Plan (TCRRP), as well as consulting with key stakeholders who will provide input into the development of the Penama Sustainable Tourism Management Plan.
The team flew down to Ambae over the weekend along with the Minister of Tourism Trade, Industry, Commerce and Ni-Vanuatu Business (MTTICNVB), Hon. James Bule and his delegation who will be spending the week in Ambae to officiate the opening of government office spaces at the Penama Provincial Headquarters in commemoration of Penama Province’s 25th Jubilee.
The team started off their awareness on Monday 14th September, in East Ambae bringing stakeholders from the northern, southern, and eastern parts of Ambae together. The stakeholders who were part of the workshop on Monday included representatives from line agencies as well as the community. These exercises are important as they highlight the priority development needs in tourism contextual to the province, and provide clear actions, timeframes, and budgets to be put together. Contributions from key players in Penama also highlight and assist in providing the ‘way forward’ in strengthening the Provincial Tourism Associations. This gives them the chance to clearly identify what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are in their area. The day’s consultation continued to highlight the important target areas to be adhered to in the Provincial Plan which includes governance, infrastructure & transport, product development, marketing, human resource development and investment. This in turn gives the Department of Tourism good grounds to seek financial support.
The team will be continuing on to Maewo, West Ambae and then on to Pentecost to complete their consultation in Penama province. This is paramount to prepare for the one-week National Tourism Forum that the Department of Tourism has scheduled to take place during the third week of October 2020. The Provincial Plan will be presented for further scrutiny and final contributions from stakeholders and other important partners. Further details on the forum will be released in the coming weeks.
Apart from the Penama Day celebrations, the Minister of Tourism will be joined by the Prime Minister, Hon. Bob Loughman and other dignitaries to officially open the new Department of Industry provincial office, witness the ground breaking of the new MTTICNVB Penama provincial office space, hand over government vehicles and the butchery solar freezer storage facility, and officially open the Wai Cooperative Society. The PM and delegates will also be visiting West Ambae where they will be handing over the DME VCO Processing Oil Facility and will be making an official visit to Maewo later this week.
