Tourism a Priority for Kiribati

Tourism remains a priority for the Government of Kiribati. This was revealed at the Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development (MICTTD) Ministry Strategic Plan(MSP) retreat at the Nemat Lodge in Buariki, North Tarawa on Saturday 30 January 2021.

The retreat was organized by the MICTTD Planning and Research Division and included all Heads of Departments in the ministry and CEO’s and senior managers of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) under the ministry.

In opening the retreat, Minister for MICTTD, Honourable Tekeeua Tarati acknowledged the enormous task that his ministry has in working towards fulfilling the ambitions of the Kiribati 20-Year Vision (KV20).

One key driver of the economic growth envisioned by the Government of Kiribati is tourism and this is reflected in the new Motinnano (Manifesto) which has set a range of tourism development activities that the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is required to implement.

Objectives in the new Motinnano for tourism include the development of sustainable ecotourism, focusing on niche products, the establishment of tourism zones in the Line and Gilbert Islands, development of Kanton in the Phoenix islands and selected islands in the Line and Gilbert group for high end tourism development, and the development of Tabuaeran (Fanning island) as a world class surfing destination.

TAK presented its 4-year implementation plan at the MSP meeting in Buariki and has commenced the structured roll out of its plans.

(Source : Kiribati Travel Newsletter, February 2, 2021 by Maaba Katirite)