Relationships key to Pacific tourism
WITH Pacific tourism arrivals hitting two million last year, the future of the industry will hinge on business relationships forged between the region’s sellers and international buyers. Over the four-year period 2012-2016, tourist numbers grew 2.9 per cent and are expected to climb further after three very successful South Pacific Tourism Exchanges in Sydney, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.
Those events motivated international travel buyers to send clients to Pacific destinations. Chris Cocker, CEO of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, believes that relationship-building is the cornerstone of a successful marketing campaign to promote the region. “The relationships built at the SPTE are crucial to developing the Pacific as a credible, safe, secure market throughout the world,” Cocker said at the end of the most recent exchange in Sydney last month.
“At the SPTE the buyers have the opportunity to see what is on offer in the regions and there’s a huge variety available in our countries “Actually it’s more than just sun, sea and sand. It’s also about people and understanding the market.”
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