2018 looking good for Vanuatu

The Vanuatu Tourism Office says its recent 2018 Australian travel trade roadshow was a great success, as well as a lot of fun.

It has built constructively not only on a good year for Australian visitor numbers but also a buoyant international market overall, both in the air-arrival and cruise sectors.

Air Vanuatu www.airvanuatu.com is boosting service frequency during the peak season from June 18 on the Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland routes to Port Vila, as well as the increasingly popular link between Brisbane and Espiritu Santo’s Santo-Pekoa International Airport.

This has been made possible by leasing a Nauru Airlines B733 to operate alongside Air Vanuatu’s own B738.

When the lease was announced in late January, Vanuatu Tourism chief executive Adela Issachar Aru observed that “we are very confident this extra capacity will boost our national tourism development and help our efforts in continuously promoting the destination abroad.”

The Santo tourism community also welcomed the additional flights to Santo.

Dave Cross of Espiritu Santo Tourism Association said the new flexibility of short or longer-term visits would appeal to travellers and the tourism community would work with the VTO and Air Vanuatu to promote the additional flights.

Vanuatu Tourism this year organised an Australian – Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne – roadshow featuring 22 operators as well as VTO itself.

More than 400 agents took part in the educational evenings which showcased the destination’s latest offerings through interactive games and networking.

One agent in each roadshow city walked away with return international air fare from Sydney or Brisbane to Port Vila thanks to Air Vanuatu, two nights’ accommodation at the Havannah on Efate, two nights at White Grass Ocean Resort on Tanna and a night volcano tour at Mount Yasur with Entani.

Adela Issachar Aru said these industry events are crucial to driving interest from the Australian market and ultimately continuing to increase visitor figures year on year.

“Australian visitation in 2017 was up 17.33 per cent  on 2016 figures, which is fantastic to see, and there has been a united effort by operators on the ground and the industry in Australia to grow these figures. In 2018 we are forecasting visitation to Vanuatu to be up 20 per cent on 2017.”

VTO is now gearing up for its annual Tok Tok event, this year to be held in Port Vila from August 27-31.

This will offer wholesalers and other travel industry buyers the opportunity to meet with local suppliers, exchange ideas and learn about upcoming opportunities in Vanuatu, as well as experience some of the diverse destination’s highlights.

VTO has committed substantial funds to promoting Vanuatu in Australia, New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, other key visitor source markets this year.

It is also working on industry support initiatives such as improving call centres.

[Source: http://impactpub.com.au/micebtn/147-news-feed/22130-2018-looking-good-for-vanuatu]

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Source: Blog