Norman Kalsa is a remarkable figure in Vanuatu’s tourism industry with an enormous amount of experience earned over his four decades working in hospitality. When you first meet Norman, you wouldn’t think that this humble man is actually one of Vanuatu’s most travelled people, having worked as head chef on a tanker vessel for 14 ... read more
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Since the Covid-19 pandemic closed Vanuatu’s borders in 2020, the VTO team has been working hard to support Vanuatu’s tourism businesses by building demand for domestic tourism with several activities and campaigns: Domestic Tourism Marketing Strategy 2021-23 VTO’s Domestic Tourism Marketing Strategy 2021-23 was released in June and provides the strategic direction for VTO’s marketing ... read more
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Like most Pacific Island countries, Vanuatu, with most of its population of 310,000 relying on fishing for food and livelihoods, faces a grave threat from ocean-borne plastic waste. Of all of its neighbours, Vanuatu has taken the most stringent steps to address the plastic scourge; in 2018, became one of the first countries in the ... read more
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Prior to March 2020, one of the world’s most accessible volcanoes, Yasur volcano on Vanuatu’s Tanna Island, received up to 300 international visitors each day. Fast-forward to now, and the contrast is striking: with Vanuatu’s borders closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, just a trickle of domestic tourists have been able to visit this stunning ... read more
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The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) has become a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which establishes and manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, known as the GSTC Criteria. SPTO’s membership in the GSTC will complement the work of the organization in moving forward particularly in relation to the newly developed Pacific Sustainable ... read more
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