Tanna Travel Centre Opening In Vanuatu

A visitors’ information and bookings centre for Tanna will open its office this week for tourism member signups. Within the next couple of months tourists will be able to book local bungalows, hotels, and tours online from anywhere in the world.
Visitors traveling to the island can stop by the travel centre, located at the Whitegrass Airport, to get information about the places they are visiting such as attractions, maps, cultural history and other relevant information.
The Tanna Travel Centre was set up through a collaboration between the the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO), the Department of Tourism and the Australian Government-funded Vanuatu Skills Partnership (TVET).
It will begin operations once it will be formally launched by the Minister for Tourism, Joe Natuman, this coming Friday, and the Australian High Commissioner, Jenny Da Rin.
This development will improve the future tourism services
It is part of the Tanna Tourism Recovery Project (TTRP) developed by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in response to the effects of cyclone Pam on tourism on Tanna.
The centre serves as a support mechanism for local tourism operators interested in engaging with international visitors through social media, travel agents and online booking websites.
It will open businesses to the world and provide an important stimulus to provincial economic growth.
Tanna Travel Centre is built on the successful model of the Malampa Travel Centre established on Malekula and Sanma Travel Centre in Luganville through TVET, now known as the Vanuatu Skills Partnership.
The Vanuatu Skills Partnership is supporting the development of the travel centres in collaboration with each provincial tourism office.
Increasing access to market for local tourism operators through the establishment of provincial bookings and information based on Tanna was one of the initiatives of TTRP.
Other initiatives include supporting local bungalows by subsidizing the costs of reconstruction and recovery materials and offering targeted demand driven, skills development activities as coaching, training and workshops
Almost 10 local operators launched their new products earlier this year as part of the recovery project and have begun receiving guests.
The DOT confirmed a further 7 bungalows have now reached national quality standard and are ready to open next month.
Following the success of TTRP, a further Vt29 million is now approved for TTRP to open up support to additional tourism operators, such as tours and activities, as well as continued support to accommodation operators for product upgrades and business development improvements
A portion of this second round funding will support the Tanna Travel Centre with the development of its new website and additional marketing activities.
 
(Source: Vanuatu Daily Post 11 October 2017)