Comments

The multi-dimensional challenges are an important point, and it's good to also to think about the future of work/employment opportunities for the population. Perhaps this will bring not only a shift in the national tourism strategy (i.e. niche marketing, restricted cruise tourism etc) to maintain the signigicant contribution to Vanuatu's GDP but also a reinvigorated focus on upskilling a population for the economic opportunities yet to be created …. and the time to start is now.

Let me put this another way, if I did the same calculation for kava and Government (i.e. earnings from kava plus Government) it would far exceed 100% of GDP - does that mean Tourism actually has a zero impact? No because earnings and GDP are calculated differently so any ratio of the two is utterly meaningless. There is only one definitive calculation that has ever been done on this for Vanuatu and that was by the VNSO and the Australian Bureau of Statistics that put the figure at about 8% for Tourism. I would trust VNSO and ABS above any consultant report. This is my point, you can hardly expect decent policy outcomes if even the most basic numbers are wrong.

This claim is at odds with the the Vanuatu Government's own figures, Nik. The Government's Trade Policy Framework Update 2019-2025, produced in partnership with the Enhanced Integrated Framework and Australian Aid, says tourism earned VUV27.1 billion or the equivalent of 30% of Vanuatu's GDP in 2017. The same publication also says that International tourism produced 75% of export earnings in 2017, and asserts that tourism is "the most important economic sector in Vanuatu in terms of employment and contribution to GDP". No GDP data is available yet for 2018 and 2019, but in 2019, approximately 20,000 more tourists visited Vanuatu than in 2017, so it is possible that tourism's contribution to GDP was even higher in 2019. If we include tourism's indirect contribution, a figure of 40% is quite plausible.

Paul, many thanks for your comments about Simon. I remember working with him and other outstanding PNG public officials attempting to establish in 2013 and 2014, unsuccessfully, the then proposed IDA. His advice was very well considered. He was a fine colleague. He will be missed.

Great article Liz, and so timely. We look forward to the resort and Vanuatu tourism recovering, within a South Pacific travel bubble as you suggest.

Hi there, Mr. Kama. I have a question regarding your blog. The question is, can PNG or any other country refer Australia to the International Court of Justice for denying the human rights of asylum seekers on Manus Island?

I agree it's important to have this perspective and to recognise that there are various aspects to this. There is no denying that tourism provides a large number of salaried jobs in Vanuatu, predominantly in Port Vila but also on Santo and Tanna as well. It's hard to see where alternative employment opportunities will arise for the people who have lost those jobs elsewhere in the economy in the immediate to short term. What's not been discussed here is the place of cruise tourism. A restart of this could well be problematic from a health risk perspective and associated community perceptions. But it's important to be clear-eyed about its place ion the overall scheme of things. It provides income earning opportunities for people in low socio-economic groups (taxi and bus drivers, people who sell souvenirs, hair braiders, etc). Cruise ship tourists do not spend much per capita (and they don't spend it at resorts or in restaurants and cafes by and large) but by virtue of the volume they inject a significant amount into the economy. They also create a base load for tour operators which creates employment, although often on a casual basis. So long story short - this is not a one-dimensional problem and it will need more than a one-dimensional solution whether for Vanuatu or other countries in the Pacific that see tourism as part of their development pathways.

Nicely written. A few facts that do need clarifying. Tourism has never been 40% of GDP. Tourism earnings divided by GDP is about 40% but that is meaningless nonsense as GDP is calculated based on value adding . Using just the math and not random numerators and denominators - tourism contributes at best about 10% of Vanuatu's GDP. Tourism is also not the major source of Vanuatu's forex nor is it a major source of revenue for the budget. If one includes Air Vanuatu it is however one of the most heavily subsidised industries in the country. This is not intended to denigrate the industry but to provide some perspective. Tourism like most industries in Vanuatu is small and fragile and the few success stories are in the niche products like Havannah, Eratap and small bungalows. This is possibly the only way to also grow the industry in the future. But that is a discussion that cannot be had in country as long as the narrative continues to be based on the misconception of the importance of local casino / hotels and a hugely inflated misconception of the contribution of the industry to the country as a whole.

Please let this be for those beautiful people of Vanuatu. Being an Australian resident and visitor to their home it only has to be the best for their recovery. Hoping all goes well with these solutions.

Thanks madam 😁😁😁😁😁👏👏👏

Very well written Liz.. excellent. I have passed on to my key supporters here in the US..though it might be a while before we are able to visit, you have my support and wishing to best for you, Greg and the family.

Thank you Paul for this obituary. I wasn't aware that Simon had sadly passed away. I loved working with Simon during my National Planning days (2010-2012) and he will be sorely missed. My thoughts and condolences to his family.