Papua Seeks More Tourists

Press, Volume C, Issue 29681, 27 November 1961, Page 23

Papua Seeks More Tourists

IBy

ANTHONY CURTIS]

(N.Z-P.A. -Reuter) PORT MORESBY. Primitive and tropical Papua-New Guinea plans to put itself on the world market soon in a move to gain more overseas funds. With its main industries of copra, cocoa and rubber in the doldrums, the territory intends to market a new product—tourism.

Papua-New Guinea has always had its casual visitors, but organised tourism has to date filled a minor place behind the development of primary industry and the education oi the native inhabitants.

Education, road-building, social welfare and medicine have absorbed most of the Australian Government's annual grant to the administration here. Last year this grant was £14,000,000. Tourism last year earned Australia £ 19,000,000 more than ever before —and residents here, conscious of their colourfill country, believe Papua-New Guinea can increase greatly this revenue. Association Formed A tourist-promotion organisation, the Papua and New Guinea Tourist and Travel Association. was formed recently to overcome obstacles in the way of overseas sightseers willing to spend money in the territory. The new association’s chairman, Mr Noel Maloney, believes many of the tourists now being brought into Australia could be induced to visit Papua-New Guinea. “Last year 100.000 overseas visitors came to Australia. Now Australia is increasing advertising in America and an airline is buildings £5,000,000 tourist hotel in Sydney,” he said. “We should be able to snare much of this tourist influx.

“Papua-New Guinea, since Africa has become largely a closed country, is now one of the world’s last frontiers. The ungles and mountains there ire as beautiful and as rug?ed as any in the world. Some’ ribesmen still engage in aeadhunting and others have lever seen 5 white man.

“This country has a savage plendour you would see novhere else in the world,” he aid.

The association’s main conlern at present is the lack of abilities—and, in particular, lotel accommodation —for the vould-be visitor. Few hotels n Papua-New Guinea are up o overseas tourist standard nd owners are reluctant to mprove them. They insist they want guarantees of more custom before ommitting their hotels, many f which are in remote areas, o costly improvements. Regular hot water is a usury in Papua-New Guinea lotels. A few do not have •ven constant running water. Juests are nearly always obliged to share their rooms and it is common for a visitor to wake on five consecutive days to find a different room-mate each day. Australia’s two principal airlines recently increased sendees to Port Moresby, Lae, Rabaul and other main Papua-New Guinea centres to cope with the increasing number of visitors. But they found they had to be selective. Accommodation was insufficient to house the numbers wanting to buy tickets for packaged tours to the territory.