THE South Pacific Tourism Organisation forecasts tourist arrivals to the Pacific Island countries to reach 1.8 million in 2015 — a growth of 19 per cent over 1.513 million recorded in 2011.
"The expected contributors to this growth forecast include projected increases in room inventory (eg. new hotel developments), expected expansion in aviation, positive economic prospects of Australia and New Zealand markets, and increases in small and medium size (SME) tourism operators' on-line development and marketing initiatives," a SPTO statement said.
This week the SPTO and Hotel Link Solutions (HLS) completed the Digital Marketing workshops and SME Market Readiness Audits conducted a few months ago in Tarawa and the Yasawa Islands. This is the first phase of the SME E-Marketing Support Pilot Project funded by the European Development Fund. The SPTO also announced the launching of 11 new e-commerce enabled web sites for properties in Tarawa, and a further 13 in the Yasawa islands.