Update from the Division – August 2023

Iokwe and welcome to another monthly update from SPTO’s Division of Sustainable Tourism!

In this August Issue of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Newsbeat, we feature the beautiful atoll nation of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) as our country of focus.

In summary, the issue highlights RMI’s efforts in enhancing the wellbeing of their local communities as well as some capacity development programs for the National Tourism Office (NTO). Some community-focused initiatives include an update on the women-led tourism Ao Kapijuknen Project, and the Water is Life Clean Water Initiative focusing on improving access to safe drinking water.

The Austronesian Forum was also conducted earlier in the month on the theme of Tourism Development of Austronesian Peoples and this was supported by the Office of Commerce, Investement and Tourism. As part of SPTO’s Digital Transformation project, RMI also benefitted from the Digital Marketing Training conducted for the NTO staff.

Across the region, we are also sharing some stories from French Polynesia, Timor Leste, Fiji, Samoa and Cook Islands on their sustainability journeys. Have a look at the new roadmap from UNWTO on food waste reduction in the tourism sector, as the resource of the month.  Some tips and facts on sustainable tourism are also provided.   Keep up to date with announcements and upcoming events

From the Division, the following are the main highlights from the month of August:

• World Heritage Site Assessment for Levuka, Fiji was conducted as part of the Project for Sustainable Heritage and Ecotourism Development in the Pacific which is on-going
• Stakeholder consultations were also conducted in Honiara, Solomon Islands as part of the above-mentioned world heritage site assessment
• Closed off the procurement and selection process of the Consultant for the Fiji Geopark Feasibility Assessment with the contract awarded to Talanoa Consulting, Fiji
• Continued preparations for the 2023 Pacific Sustainable Tourism Leadership Summit as the division opened up registrations
• Continued preparations for the virtual Pacific Youth Forum on Sustainable Tourism

If you would like to access our next e-newsletter, you can sign up here and receive the latest updates from the region in sustainable tourism. Our next issue will be a special edition with a regional focus as we celebrate World Tourism Day.

Should you have any queries or want your sustainable tourism story featured in the next issue, feel free to contact us at sustainable@spto.org.

Kommol Tata (Thank you)