Weather, Climate And Early Warning Information From Meteorological Services In The Pacific Is Key For Tourism Sector Planning

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation is advocating for stronger linkages between the Pacific tourism sector and meteorological services in the region to ensure that tourism planning and development is well informed by quality and timely weather, climate and early warning information.
This was the message from SPTO during the 4^th Pacific Meteorological Council Meeting, Donor and Partner Roundtable and the 2nd Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology in Honiara, Solomon Islands earlier last month.
A highlight of the meeting is the recognition of the tourism sector as an additional sector under the Pacific Regional Roadmap for Strengthened Climate Services.
During the meeting, SPTO drew attention to the fact that tourism is a key economic sector for the Pacific and it is therefore crucial to strengthen the linkage at national level between National Meteorological Services (NMSs), the National Tourism Offices and the private sector.
“The tourism sector is highly exposed to natural disasters and climatic events, as we have witnessed with Vanuatu’s encounter with Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 and last year with Tropical Cyclone Winston devastating Fiji” said Christopher Cocker, Chief Executive Officer of SPTO.
“Working together in preparing for challenging times as a result of natural disasters will ensure that the safety of guests and workers are guaranteed but also ensure that businesses will stay open or recover quickly”, he added.
As a first step, SPTO emphasizes the need for the tourism operators to clearly identify their information needs to local NMSs and continue to provide the necessary support in disseminating information to visitors and other stakeholders especially during emergencies or severe weather events.
“Having access to the Rainfall Outlook for the next 3 to 6 months will be useful for hotels in dry areas as it will trigger their water saving actions.  On the other hand, strong wind warnings for specific sites or for tourism development areas would be appreciated for planning activities” SPTO Sustainable Tourism Development Manager, Christina Leala-Gale said.
“Weather and climate events impact the entire region so working in collaboration with our NMSs at national and regional level is very important for us going forward.”
She noted that SPTO and SPREP are exploring opportunities in joining forces with other partners to build and demonstrate private sector climate and disaster resilience through the tourism sector.
The meeting saw the participation of National Meteorological Services from the Pacific, Ministers of Meteorology, donors and development partners, the World Meteorological Organisation, CROP Agencies and Non-Government Organisations.
 
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About SPTO
Established in 1983 as the Tourism Council of the South Pacific, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is the mandated organisation representing Tourism in the region. Its 18 Government members are American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the People’s Republic of China. In addition to government members, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation enlists a private sector membership base.
 
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For more information, contact:
Alisi Lutu, Marketing Manager
South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO)
Email: alutu@spto.org or +679 3304177
 
(Source: South Pacific Tourism Organisation [SPTO] Press Release 01 September 2017)