The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) celebrated its 1st year anniversary with a quiet celebration at its head office in Betio, South Tarawa on Wednesday 10 June 2020.
In his welcome address, TAK CEO, Petero Manufolau thanked the Government of Kiribati (GoK) for its vision in recognizing the potential tourism has for the economy and for the opportunity for TAK to lead the development and marketing of tourism in Kiribati.
The event was an opportunity for the organisation to celebrate its achievements in the last 12 months and share its strategies, particularly as current global COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact global travel.
Chief guest and Minister of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development, Honourable Willie Tokataake reaffirmed the Government of Kiribati’s (GoK) commitment to provide key supporting economic infrastructures that directly or indirectly support tourism development as reflected in Kiribati’s Vision for the next 20 Years (KV20). He added that the recent development and upgrading of outer island airports and key international ports on Tarawa, Christmas and Kanton underpin government strong desire to promote and develop tourism in the country.
Kiribati recorded a 19% increase in international visitors in 2019 and a 11% increase in the number of beds available in country. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a 60% decline in international visitor arrivals as at May 2020 and the Tourism Authority of Kiribati anticipates a greater decline due to continued travel restrictions.
In its ‘Reset Kiribati’ strategy, TAK will be implementing a series initiatives and activities aimed at addressing the needs of the new traveler post COVID-19. These include destination awareness on what TAK believes will be the ‘new normal’, tourism operator training, product update for international tour operators and niche focused digital marketing campaigns
