UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

The head of a hotel chain says there are great opportunities for travellers.

Hotelier Marc Ehler, Group General Manager of Coral Sea Hotels, has visited 70 different countries and worked in many of them. He sees great potential for tourism in PNG.

‘The leisure and adventure tourism prospects in PNG are enormous,’ he observes.

Ehler says there are some ‘interesting parallels’ between Papua New Guinea and African countries, or with the Maldives and Seychelles.

‘They have “sun, sea and sand” only and they are hugely successful in tourism. Here, PNG has so much more: the fauna and the flora, the bird life, the mountains, game fishing, extraordinary diving, the cultural shows, and the tribes.

‘You can truly experience “a million different journeys” as the PNG Tourism Promotions Authority’s slogan suggests.

‘PNG’S culture is very natural. It is not staged, and that is unique. When you go to the countryside, you get to know the real culture, and during the cultural shows tourists love to “sing-sing” and dance along.

‘What is currently present are niche tourism markets, which focus on mountaineering and diving and history with all the war cemeteries—kokoda being one of the most famous attractions for historical tourism.’