PICTURES say a thousand words and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) clearly understands that.
It will soon have a Pacific Islands Image Library.
The SPTO has appointed Frontier Publishing PTY Ltd to undertake the Pacific Islands Image Library project in SPTO's 15-member Pacific ACP Countries.
Funded through the European Union's EDF 10 Pacific Regional Tourism Capacity Building Program (PRTCBP), the objective of the Pacific Islands Image Library Project is to improve tourism promotional activities and tools used by the region's National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) in both print and electronic media through the production and use of a high quality digital library.
The project will be led by David Kirkland, one of the most widely published travel photographers and writers in the Asia Pacific region.
SPTO's chief executive officer Ilisoni Vuidreketi reiterated the need for the region to compete more effectively in the global tourism market and acknowledged that high quality images remain effective tools that will help capture travellers' imagination and desire to visit the South Pacific.
Over the next six months, Mr Kirkland, in partnership with the SPTO will travel throughout the Pacific Islands photographing unique attractions and charming scenery that make each of these island destinations fascinatingly alluring.
Once completed, all images will be available through a digital online image library hosted on the SPTO website and accessible to National Tourism Offices across the Pacific.