The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) celebrated its 2nd anniversary on 10 June 2021. To commemorate this occasion, TAK management and staffs reflected on the journey that the organisation has taken since opening office in 2019 followed by a cake cutting ceremony at its Takoronga office in Betio, South Tarawa.
Through the support of the Government of Kiribati (GoK) and the Kiribati 20-year Vision (KV20), tourism was recognised for its potential to stimulate economic development, provide employment, income generation as well as support the retention of cultural traditions, sustainable management of natural environmental assets and wider contribution towards socio-economic benefits. This led to the development of the Kiribati Tourism Act 2018, which made way for the establishment of the Tourism Authority in June 2019.
The COVID-19 travel restrictions which came into effect in late March 2020 put a halt to international tourism for Kiribati. This challenged TAK to look at the immediate needs of the local tourism stakeholders in light of the drop in business and to prepare the industry for the resumption of travel post COVID-19.
Since then, TAK launched its Mauri Experience promotion, a campaign targeted at domestic tourism. The organisation also engaged with regional and international stakeholders to deliver a series of capacity building and online training programs for tourism operators.
In late 2020, TAK participated in the Pacific Tourism Waste Action Initiative program through the Pacific Tourism Organisation. This saw the organisation win the Best Strategy in Creative Tourism Development awards at the 2020 International Creative Tourism Network Awards.
TAK acknowledges that the current international travel restrictions are an opportune time to reevaluate the destination’s strategic direction and a smart and sustainable restart to tourism is high on its priorities. To this effect, the organisation has commenced work on the development of the Kiribati Sustainable Tourism Development Policy Framework which will form the basis of its proposed National Tourism Recovery program.
The organisation has also completed the development of the Kiribati Tourism & Hospitality Protocols for the New Normal funded through the US Economic Recovery Grant. The COVID-19 safety protocols are a guide for Kiribati tourism business operators and training will commence from 17 June 2021.
Whilst there is still uncertainty on when international tourism will resume in Kiribati, TAK will continue into its third year of operation with the commitment to using this quiet time to help strengthen capacity throughout the industry. It is also set to establish industry standards based on sustainable tourism values, build new rewarding regional and international partnerships and guide Kiribati to embrace the new normal in tourism as it prepares to welcome back travellers in the future.
