Kiribati – Towards 2030

Pillar 1 of the Government of Kiribati (GoK) 20-year vision (KV20) recognises that sustainable tourism will contribute to economic development through employment and job creation, income generation, as well as supporting the retention of cultural traditions, management of national environmental assets and wider contributions towards social–economic benefits. GoK also recognises that tourism can support the development of other sectors like agriculture through forward and backward linkages.

It is for this reason that the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) was established in 2019 to lead the country’s tourism development and promotion program which includes tourism investment promotion, product development, licensing and standards regulation, training and development, research, and marketing.

TAK’s three year strategic plan (2020 – 2022) highlights the need for tourism development to be sustainable, considering the limitations that the destination has in terms of land space, access to fresh water supply and a heavy dependence on imports by tourism business operators.

To help realise government’s vision of a truly sustainable tourism destination, TAK, through the 2020 – 2022 Kiribati Tourism Development Framework, will soon begin work on the development of the Kiribati Sustainable Tourism Policy. This policy will be guided by the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) and the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and socio-cultural sustainability.

Further to the above, TAK is delighted that the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD) has launched its Kiribati Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy (2020 – 2030). The strategic goals of this strategy will address environmental sustainability aims of the Sustainable Tourism Policy.  

TAK has also started a Perception Survey, the aim of which is to gauge people’s views on tourism and its impact on their economic well-being and the natural environment. The results of this survey will inform the development of the Sustainable Tourism Policy.