The Acting CEO of the Tourism Authority of Kiribati Ms. Reeti Onorio had the opportunity to present on Sustainable Tourism as part of the International Workshop on Sustainable Blue Economies in Pacific Islands and Territories. The Workshop was held at a Convention Hall of the Hyatt Regency Guam from 20 – 21 March 2024 and was followed by a field visit on 22 March 2024 which was attended by participants representing various sectors from the Southern and Northern Pacific region as well as Forum Secretariat’s CROP agencies.
The sustainable blue economies encompass a wide range of sectors including not only fisheries, aquaculture, and marine conservation, but also marine pollution control, renewable energy, sustainable tourism, blue financing, leadership, and human resource development. The invited participants had the opportunity to share updates from their respective sectors on these themes and their latest progress and assessment concerning sustainable blue economies in the Pacific.
TAK had the privilege of sharing Kiribati’s actions on its recently launched Sustainable Tourism policy and Action Plan providing examples of sustainable tourism activities in line with marine ecosystem conservation such as flyfishing in Kiritimati Christmas Island and Community Based Tourism in line with Marine Protected Areas in the Kiribati outer islands.
The Workshop was hosted by the Centre for Island Sustainability, University of Guam (CIS-UoG) and co-organized by the CIS-UoG and the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF) with the support of the Centre for Pacific Islands Studies of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and the East-West Centre.
The outcome of the Workshop will be shared appropriately at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States to be held in May 2024 whilst its 2nd preparatory committee meeting is to be held in April 2024 along with other relevant international meetings.
