Pacific Tourism Organisation To Host Regional Stakeholder Consultation in Nadi

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) will host the Regional Stakeholder Consultation in Nadi from 13^th -16^th June. The four-day workshop is expected to provide tourism practitioners and policymakers from the National Tourism Organisations (NTO), private sector, donors, and partners the opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation to bolster resilience across the tourism sector.

As the regional body mandated to promote and develop tourism in the Pacific, SPTO in partnership with the New Zealand Government will host a series of Regional Stakeholder Consultations to advance regional collaboration in the following areas:

• Tourism Research Cooperation,
• Sector Resilience and Donor Options and Coordination,
• Sustainable Tourism Standards,
• Communications and Digital Transformations.

The Regional Stakeholder Consultation is aligned to SPTO’S Strategic Plan 2020-2024 vision “Pacific Islands to be empowered by and benefitting from Sustainable Tourism”,  and a critical step towards achieving key regional tourism priorities as identified in the  Pacific Tourism Statistics Strategy, the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework and SPTO’s Digital Strategy,

In acknowledging the importance of the workshop, SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker noted that the crosscutting nature of tourism reinforces the linkages between the tourism policy instruments and regional policy frameworks such as the overarching 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the corresponding regional economic, social, cultural and environmental strategies and frameworks.

“The convening of the Regional Stakeholder Consultation comes at an opportune time to provide tourism practitioners and policymakers an opportunity to contribute towards these regional tourism initiatives. These consultations ensure that future programs of support are relevant and fluid enough in addressing the changing needs of tourism markets and destinations, particularly for Pacific people who are involved in tourism at the community, industry, and national levels.  Through a strong regional approach, tourism in the Pacific can better serve the needs of the region, visitors, industry, and the environment,” Mr Cocker mentioned.