PACER Plus-funded Training to Boost Solomon Islands Tourism Sector
HONIARA, Solomon Islands – The Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the Solomon Islands, in partnership with the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), is pleased to announce the successful completion of the first phase of the Finance Literacy Training for Beach Operators. This initiative, aimed at micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism industry in Solomon Islands, marks a significant step towards enhancing financial literacy and business management skills among local tourism operators. Sol Grassroots’ Financial Literacy Trainer Mr. Calvin Charles (standing) with students. The training, held on 1-2 August, 15-16 August, and 22-23 August 2023, witnessed enthusiastic participation from beach operators near Honiara. This endeavour is part of a broader effort to foster sustainable growth in the Solomon Islands’ tourism industry, where micro and small locally owned businesses constitute about 70 percent of the sector. Mr. Philip Sukibuka, Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, expressed his optimism about the project’s outcomes: “Many small business operators were not able to access loans or relief grants due to poor financial reporting. This workshop is a possible solution on how we can assist to address this challenge.” The Solomon Islands tourism industry, although vibrant, faces challenges due to the predominance of informal small-scale businesses. Many operators struggle with inadequate financial reporting and management practices, hindering their ability to access loans and grants. The survey conducted by the Department of Tourism in 2022 highlighted these hurdles and the need for targeted interventions. Phase 1 of the training focused on enhancing business practices and encouraging investment in preparation for the 2023 Pacific Games scheduled to be hosted in Honiara. This initiative is designed to enable local operators to capitalise on the tourist influx during the games while also promoting sustainable practices. Mr. Augusto Taraha, owner and manager of Eden Bay, Block 1 Beach. Mr. Augusto Taraha, owner and manager of Eden Bay and Block 1 Beach, who attended the training, shared: “The training is simple and easy for me to understand. I never thought of adding extra income streams to grow my business. I will start to think about how I can incorporate this.” The second phase of the training, scheduled from January – March 2024, will expand its reach to other key provinces, including Western, Central Island, Malaita, and Isabel Provinces. The comprehensive curriculum covers critical topics such as beach tourism, bookkeeping in tourism, cash management in tourism, and savings and budgeting in tourism. The training session are designed to be context-specific, practical and interactive, empowering participants to develop effective cash book records. As the Financial Literacy Training for Beach Operators continues its journey, it holds the promise of not only transforming individual businesses but also uplifting the tourism landscape in the Solomon Islands. -END- More articles like this one
PACER Plus Boosts Tuvalu’s Tourism Development
FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu – The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) supported the development of Tuvalu’s tourism sector through a capacity building initiative aimed at improving skills of accommodation service, food and beverage service staff, and the business owners active in the industry. Tuvalu’s Department of Tourism with the support of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) has delivered the Tuvalu Tourism Development Training which aims to enhance the quality of standards in professional housekeeping, culinary skills, and hospitality management, strengthening the tourism industry’s contribution to the country’s GDP and national development. The Tuvalu Tourism Department, in partnership with the PPIU, organised a Tourism Industry Roundtable to explore the potential for growth and development in Tuvalu’s tourism sector. Tuvalu recognizes the importance of tourism in achieving its national vision of “A Peaceful, Resilient, and Prosperous Tuvalu”. The initiative aligns with Tuvalu’s National Development Strategy Te Kete 2021-2031 and the Tuvalu Sustainable Tourism Policy 2022-2032, both emphasizing the role of tourism in job creation, income generation, and skill development. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in Tuvalu had been steadily growing, with increasing visitor numbers and tourism receipts. In 2019, tourism earnings accounted for an estimated 5.6 per cent of the country’s GDP, providing employment opportunities for the people of Tuvalu. With the launch of the PACER Plus Tuvalu Tourism Development Training, Tuvalu aims to further harness the potential of its tourism sector. Mrs. Silaati Timo, Acting CEO of the Ministry of Transport, Energy, and Tourism, expressed her optimism about the training, stating: “Tourism has always been a significant contributor to our economy, providing employment opportunities and fostering growth across various sectors. With the support of PACER Plus, we can further enhance our tourism offerings, improve our service quality, and create a sustainable industry that benefits all Tuvaluans.” The program’s emphasis on professional standards and skills training resonates with industry experts. Mr. Joe Lam, a culinary trainer and Samoan chef, expressed his support, saying: “The training will be instrumental in uplifting the skills of the local entrepreneurs and employees in the tourism and hospitality sector.” Mr. Horace Evans, culinary trainer and Samoan chef, agreed: “By equipping them with the necessary knowledge and expertise, we can unlock their potential for innovation and entrepreneurship, ensuring a vibrant tourism industry.” Culinary trainer and chef Horace Evans (far left) with the staff of L’s Lodge in Funafuti, Tuvalu. Ms. Kate Payne, Professional Housekeeping Trainer, also shared her thoughts on the training, saying: “Quality and standards play a critical role in the success of any tourism sector. By investing in the training and upskilling of the tourism workforce, Tuvalu will be better equipped to meet international standards and exceed visitor expectations.” The PACER Plus Tuvalu Tourism Development Training aligns with the country’s broader national policies and strategies, including the Tuvalu National Trade Development Strategy 2022-2026, which identifies tourism as a priority growth sector. By integrating tourism into national supply chains and strengthening hospitality training domestically, Tuvalu aims to expand its market reach and promote investment in the tourism sector. -END- More articles like this one
PACER Plus Workshop Empowers Pacific Trade Officials with Insights
APIA, Samoa – The four-day PACER Plus Regional Trade in Services Workshop, aimed at enhancing the capacity of government officials from PACER Plus Parties, concluded successfully yesterday. The workshop, held from 8-11 May in Samoa’s capital Apia, provided a platform for participants to delve into the significance of services trade, explore the PACER Plus services chapter and schedules of specific commitments, analyse trade in services statistics, and identity opportunities for Pacific Parties to bolster their service sectors and maximise gains from services trade. The workshop featured world class experts who shared their expertise and knowledge on various aspects of services trade. These included trade experts from organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, Lexbridge Lawyers, World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, TradeWorthy, Pacific Islands Forum, and the Pacific Community. Presentations from the ASEAN region and the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership also highlighted lessons from other regions and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that could assist the development of trade in services in the Pacific. Through comprehensive sessions and engaging exchanges with experts, the participants deepened their understanding of the vital role services play in the region’s economic growth. The workshop fostered a collaborative environment that empowered the participants to explore the opportunities available to them and envision strategies to strengthen their service sectors. “I wish to acknowledge the PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) for organising this workshop. The first day of the workshop, I remember saying to myself that I didn’t fully understand trade in services. At the end of it, I can now say that I’ve gained invaluable insights into services trade. My understanding of the vital role services play in Solomon Islands and indeed regionally has deepened,” said Janice Ashwin, Senior Trade Officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade in Solomon Islands. Reflecting on the workshop’s success, Laisiana Tugaga, Operations and Secretariat Manager of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit, remarked: “We’ve learnt this week that the services sector is the backbone of economic development, creating more jobs and economic activity than any other sector. We are seeing this even in the Pacific with services value added accounting for more than half of some countries’ GDP – 70 per cent for Samoa. PACER Plus offers a unique opportunity to address barriers to trade in services in the Pacific. Not only is it the only FTA in the Pacific with a trade in services agreement that is in force, but it also has a development cooperation programme that can provide targeted support to our countries. We are confident that the knowledge gained during this workshop will pave the way of enhanced participation and gains from services trade in the Pacific.” From this workshop, the Parties have agreed to continue targeted capacity building initiatives to broaden Pacific stakeholders’ understanding of Parties’ services obligations and commitments under the PACER Plus Agreement. The Parties also agreed to look at renewed processes and tools to improve the development of project proposals under the PACER Plus Development and Economic Cooperation (DEC) work programme. The PACER Plus Implementation Unit administers the DEC and provides support to Parties for the implementation of activities including Trade in Services. -END- About PACER Plus: The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) is a unique regional trade and investment agreement among eight Pacific countries and Australia and New Zealand. The agreement aims to promote economic cooperation and enhance trade between Pacific countries and their larger neighbours, Australia and New Zealand. More articles like this one
Regional Workshop to Boost Services Trade under PACER Plus
APIA, Samoa – The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) is the only Free Trade Agreement in the Pacific which has entered into force, that has a Trade in Services component. It offers better access and greater certainty for service suppliers in Parties and has the potential to deliver significant gains given the increasing importance of services trade in Pacific economies. For these small and remote economies, services trade can directly contribute to sustainable economic development in the region through generating jobs, facilitating global and regional value chains, and enhancing participation of Pacific micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in those chains. The PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) recognises the need for further capacity development support to help Pacific countries understand their obligations and optimise the opportunities provided in the PACER Plus Agreement to increase their participation and benefits from services trade. The PPIU is therefore hosting a four-day Regional Trade in Services workshop which starts today in Apia, Samoa. Experts in Trade in Services from around the world have been engaged to conduct the training, including from the World Trade Organisation, International Telecommunications Union, United Nations Conference on Trade & Development, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Pacific Community, and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Experts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also engaged to share lessons learnt from services trade in their region and how it can apply to the Pacific. The workshop is attended by key trade in services officials from Pacific Parties, namely Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. “The regional workshop will help Pacific countries enhance their participation and benefits from services trade under PACER Plus. It is a significant step towards effective capacity building and implementing Trade in Services under the PACER Plus agreement,” said Mr Roy Lagolago, Head of PPIU. -END- Photo Caption: Pacific trade officials from PACER Plus parties met at the PPIU office in Apia, Samoa today for the 4-day PACER Plus Trade in Services Workshop. More articles like this one
PACER Plus two years on
This month marks the second anniversary of when the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) entered into force. PACER Plus is a regional development-centered trade agreement designed to support Pacific Island countries to become more active partners in, and benefit from, regional and global trade. Ten Pacific Island Forum countries ratified and have been party to the agreement since its entry into force on 13 December 2020: Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU), which manages and delivers the work programme, was established in Apia, Samoa last year. PPIU works with Pacific parties to implement activities under PACER Plus. The agreement provides members with a framework to sustainably grow their trade in services and expand participation in key service sectors such as tourism. Sustainable tourism development is a key driver of economic recovery in the Pacific with PACER Plus enabling more transparent and predictable operation conditions for domestic and foreign service providers. With the reopening of Tonga’s international borders, PPIU supported the Tongan tourism industry with training programs on customer service, communications, COVID-19 protocols, and other priority themes identified through a training needs analysis. “The impact of the pandemic on the Tongan tourism industry has been severe but we were pleased that PACER Plus provided the much-needed training to prepare our tourism industry as we welcome the world back to Tonga,” said Ms Lorraine Kauhenga, Deputy CEO at Tonga Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. PPIU was also pleased to support Solomon Islands and Samoa with the ePhyto Capacity Building Workshop attended by exporters and industry stakeholders. The electronic phytosanitary certificate, otherwise known as ePhyto, is a tool that transitions paper phytosanitary certificate information into a digital phytosanitary certificate. This electronic exchange between countries makes trade safer, faster, and cheaper. “ePhyto promotes opportunities to improve bilateral trade in the region and other parts of the world. It will advance trade efficiency by reducing costs associated with bilateral negotiations and reduce fraudulent certificates. The ePhyto system will improve trade thereby improving incomes, creating more employment opportunities, and thereby enhancing economic development,” said Hon. La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, Samoa’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. This year, Samoa hosted the sixth Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting (PLMAM) where more than 150 delegates from government, private sector, international agencies, and stakeholders in the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Timor Leste to discuss labour mobility priorities in the region. “The PLMAM is a significant medium by which we are advancing inclusive regional labour mobility cooperation in the Pacific. This meeting’s theme of ‘Reinvigorating labour mobility cooperation for development’ reiterates the opportunity for all labour mobility stakeholders to re-engage, reset and re-commit to advancing an effective level of cooperation that can enhance mutually beneficial development gains,” said Hon. Leatinu’u Wayne So’oialo, Samoa’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Labour. Moving forward, PPIU will focus on exports and broader trade facilitation in the agricultural sector, recovery of the tourism industry, improving cooperation under labour mobility, and implementing activities that focus on enabling PACER Plus parties to meet requirements of importing countries, implementing systems that make trade easier, and promoting export products while establishing business connections across the PACER Plus network. More articles like this one
Rebuilding Tonga tourism after the pandemic
PACER Plus countries look to reinvigorate key industries to support their economic recovery with international borders reopening worldwide. The impact of the pandemic on tourism industry has been severe, where it is estimated some 80 per cent of tourism-sector jobs have been lost across the region. The tourism sector remains a key pillar of many Pacific economies and presents an important opportunity to stabilise service sectors and kick-start their diverse value chains again. For Tonga, pre-pandemic tourism contributed to over 11 per cent of GDP, a critical factor recognised by Lorraine Kauhenga, Deputy CEO at Tonga Ministry of Trade and Economic Development (MTED) when developing the program of support for international trade under the PACER Plus Agreement. Key tourism markets for Tonga are Australia and New Zealand, where over 70 per cent of tourist arrivals originate from, and thus MTED prioritised support to the Tonga Tourism Authority (TTA) as measure. With the support of PACER Plus Implementation Unit, the TTA commenced a fast-tracked program of training and re-training tourism staff. Priority themes identified through a training needs analysis in late 2021 included customer service, communications, and COVID-19 protocols as key areas for development. On 29 June 2022, the first of a series of the customer service and communications training took place at Tungi Colonade in Nuku’alofa. Some 24 participants developed skills in greeting customers, responding to complaints, and range of other activities over the two-day training. “The Ministry would like to thank the TTA for leading this much needed training in preparing our tourism industry for the reopening of the borders, learning new things as we adapt to the new norm of living with COVID-19 and its uncertainty, but also to serve as a refresher to gain new energy as we once again greet the world,” said Ms Kauhenga. Training on health and hygiene standards and COVID-19 soon followed on 11 July 2022 in Nuku’alofa, with more trainings to be rolled out across the countries in priority locations including Vava’u, Ha’apai and ‘Eua. “Whilst the pandemic has had many devastating impacts, a positive development has been the increased use of technology in the way we work. This was seen as a key opportunity for expanding the reach of training activities,” said Ms Simata Palu, Planning and Development Manager at TTA. With support from the PACER Plus Implementation Unit, TTA was able to live stream their event. “This is an important step in making our training more inclusive and accessible, as well as sustainable. Whilst we still need to develop our systems and processes to best capture this new way of delivering training, we are learning new skills and will strive to make this better as we progress,” said Ms Palu. Supporting economic recovery and promoting trade in the region is key objective of the PACER Plus Agreement. As we look to the future, many countries will consider prioritising opportunities that tourism presents in creating jobs, expanding the services sector, and international investment – all key elements of PACER Plus, and the role of the Implementation Unit in supporting. “We also appreciate the financial assistance provided through the PACER Plus Implementation Unit in making this training possible. We look forward to more successful trainings such as these and regaining the world’s confidence in our tourism industry,” said Ms Kauhenga. More articles like this one
PPIU partners with SPTO to strengthen capacity building
The Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) and Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Implementation Unit or the PPIU have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster a collaborative partnership that will benefit both organizations and their stakeholders. With its extensive knowledge and experience centred in trade and investment aligning itself to the Sustainable Development Goals, PPIU supports Pacific Island countries to implement activities under the PACER Plus Agreement, stimulating economic growth and sustainable development in the Pacific. Both regional organisations SPTO and PACER Plus will benefit from knowledge sharing and best partnership experiences under the MoU. A key objective of this partnership is that PACER Plus Implementation Unit and SPTO will collaborate to advocate and respond to issues and opportunities that support the development and sustainable growth of the tourism industry in the Pacific. The PACER Plus Implementation Unit will manage and deliver the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme that will support Pacific PACER Plus members to strengthen their capacity to benefit from regional trade, economic growth, and sustainable development. Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit Mr. Roy Lagolago commended the MoU with SPTO, adding this was an important step in a partnership agreement between two major regional organisations in a time when collaboration and sharing of knowledge was more important than ever. Similarly, SPTO Chief Executive, Mr. Christopher Cocker, emphasized the importance of building partnerships to effectively address common challenges. “We are very excited to work with the PACER Plus Implementation Unit to develop a partnership framework, bringing together our resources and experiences for the benefit of our respective member countries. “To partner and collaborate with an established regional body like the PPIU is crucial particularly when working towards recovery in the tourism industry post the global pandemic. A collaboration with like-minded partners is critical for SPTO and our member countries to drive tourism’s recovery and ensure resilience in the long run”, said Mr. Cocker. -END- Caption: The partnership will respond to issues that support the growth of the tourism industry in the Pacific. (Photo: Samoa Tourism). More articles like this one