Mauri is Kiribati for hello. As a greeting word, Mauri can also be adjusted to suit the situation such as Kam na bane ni Mauri, Ko Na Mauri, Mauri riki or the more casual and loud Mauri Mauri! However it is called out, Mauri epitomises the essence of the traditional Kiribati hospitality and when expressed, represents a feeling of genuine welcome, care and an assurance of safety to the person it is being expressed to.
To this effect, the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is pleased to announce that it has officially commenced work on the development of the Kiribati Mauri Way Customer Service Programme in partnership with the Aotearoa New Zealand Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA).
The Mauri Way will be the Kiribati Tourism and Hospitality Customer Service guide that embraces the Kiribati style of hospitality and culture, and rooted in the traditional blessings of Te Mauri, Te Raoi and Te Tabomoa.
Through this collaboration with VSA, TAK has engaged customer service experts Ms. Anna Stevens and Mr Dominick William Valentine Coppinger to guide TAK on the development of the program and implement a comprehensive industry wide Mauri Way customer service training. This will be complimented with an online customer service training portal to be accessible to all tourism and hospitality business operators across Kiribati.
Once completed and implemented, the Mauri Way program has the potential the improve the quality of tourism and hospitality customer service delivery in Kiribati and will prepare the destination for an exciting restart to tourism when its international borders reopen.
