Tourism Solomons stages biggest-ever AU/NZ media roadshow

Honiara, Solomon Islands – Tourism Solomons has successfully wrapped up what represents its biggest ever media road show meeting more than 80 of Australia and New Zealand’s highest profile travel editors and writers.

A key component in the national tourist office’s annual overseas marketing activity, , the  Tourism Solomons team, headed by Acting CEO, Dagnal Dereveke visited Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, taking the opportunity to meet with and update media in each city on the latest developments taking place on the Solomon Islands travel scene.

While many of those present represented general consumer writers, B2B travel industry press and several freelancers, the audience also included those media specialising in the Solomon Islands’  niche product areas where the destination strongly competes – diving, fishing, adventure travel, trekking, history and surfing.

Travel and adventure documentary film makers Australia’s Grainger TV and New Zealand’s Wild Film also attended.

Mr Dereveke said that while the roadshow’s primary purpose was to deliver key messages, it also proved invaluable for reconnecting with long‑standing media partners.

Many of these contacts, he noted, already know the destination well, having visited previously through the tourist board’s International Media Visitation Program (IMVP).

“Equally, these events give us a strong platform to introduce the Solomon Islands to the new generation of travel storytellers — the emerging writers, influencers, and bloggers who are rapidly building their profiles,” he said.

“What was very clear at all three events was the interest the Solomon Islands’ appeal has for these writers— a place that offers authenticity and something genuinely real, and raw.

“The level of interest, the depth of the questions asked, and the energy in the room was incredibly encouraging.

“It reinforces that the Solomon Islands story is one people are eager to tell — and one their audiences are ready to hear.”