Update from the Sustainable Tourism and Research Division

Pacific Greetings from the Sustainable Tourism & Research Division!

November has been another eventful month for the region.  In this issue we spotlight key initiatives from around the Pacific including SPTO’s work on Sustainable Tourism, Research and Statistics. 

The inaugural Pacific Islands Tourism Research Symposium held on 30^th November and 1^st December was a great success in bringing tourism research stakeholders together to talanoa and identify pathways for doing tourism better post pandemic.  The event could not have been possible without the contribution of expert speakers, moderators and the Steering Committee.  Vinaka Vakalevu, Meitaki Maata and Komol tata!

The tri-partite partnership between SPTO, the Pacific Community and UNESCO to carry out the Preliminary Feasibility Assessment of opportunities for the development of Geoparks in four selected sites in Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu concluded with the publication of the full report and country profiles this month.   

We recognise the ongoing efforts of the Teti’aroa Society as the Sustainability Champion of the month for their work in conservation, regeneration and monitoring of natural and cultural heritage on the atoll island in French Polynesia.

In this issue we acknowledge sustainability initiatives of our partners including UNDP and their work in promoting a whole of government approach to enhancing community resilience in Solomon Islands. 

We share with you an excellent resource on Gender Equality Disability and Social Inclusion in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Guidelines for Hotels in Fiji’s Tourism Sector, a joint initiative of Australian Aid, the University of the South Pacific, Griffith University, the Fiji Hotels and Tourism Association, Water for Women and International Water Centre which has been recently made available.   

Take note of important announcements and upcoming webinars.  Calls for Nominations are open for the ‘Enhancing climate resilience in tourism in the Pacific’ online training which will be delivered jointly by SPREP, JICA and SPTO in late January 2022.  Limited seats are available, so secure your seat before nominations close on 14 January 2022.

Stay up to date with our Pacific Sustainable Tourism Newsbeat and contact us should you want to share your stories in the upcoming Sustainable Tourism Newsbeat issues.

Any queries or feedback can be directed to sustainable@spto.org

Team STRD