Taare Rikiai – Page 13 – Kaongora Newsletter

Culture core to the Kiribati Visitor Experience

April 21, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

Goal 2 of the Kiribati Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework recognises that tourism must preserve cultural and historical heritage. This commitment reflects the Kiribati tourism sector’s obligation to guaranteeing authentic visitor experiences. It also an acknowledgement of the value travellers place on Kiribati’s unique culture and history as captured in the 2019 Kiribati International Visitor Survey (IVS).

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) commends the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) through its Culture & Museum Division (CMD) to preserve, protect and promote Kiribati’s culture and heritage.

In its role as the advocate for Kiribati cultural preservation, the CMD recently conducted a 1-week training program for 25 youths in South Tarawa. Delivered by community cultural trainers at the CMD Maneaba, the program included traditional food preservation, local arts and craft, toddy cutting and Bwabwai farm cultivation.

TAK is encouraged that the sharing of traditional skills and knowledge is reinforced at a community youth level and when practiced, will offer international visitors an experience that is unique to Kiribati alone.

The preservation and showcasing of Kiribati’s cultures and traditions through tourism will remain a priority for TAK and work is currently underway to establish it as a sustainable tourism indicator for the destination.

TAK Hosts Strategic Plan Consultation Workshop

April 14, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) hosted a one-day stakeholder consultation workshop for the development of the organisation’s 2023 – 2025 Strategic Plan on Thursday 13 April 2023 at the Marine Training Centre (MTC) in Betio, South Tarawa.

Attended by representatives from Government, State Owned Enterprises (SOE), Tourism Operators and Non-Government Organisations (NGO), the workshop presented TAK the opportunity to share its new set of draft strategic priorities with its stakeholder partners.

The workshop also allowed for valuable input from stakeholders on how TAK can better serve the industry and to be better equipped to support the Government of Kiribati’s KV20 aspirations for increased economic contribution through tourism.

Participants were also introduced to the first draft of the Kiribati Sustainable Tourism Indicators; a set of tools that will support TAK to measure the destination’s sustainable tourism goals.

TAK’s 2023-2025 Strategic Plan development is supported through technical support from the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI). This project is scheduled to be completed with the strategic plan launch in July 2023.

TAK completes photography project

April 3, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) through the support of Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), Nauru Airlines and local tourism operators, engaged renown Pacific photographer, David Kirkland on a 1-week photo shoot of Tarawa and Abaiang.

Kirkland last undertook a photography project for Kiribati in 2013 and TAK utilised this recent visit to capture new product developments whilst still focussing on people and culture as the unique selling points for the destination.

TAK is grateful to Nauru Airlines for flying Mr. Kirkland into Tarawa for the project and to the SPTO for funding the photography costs. The project could not have been possible as well without the assistance of local accommodation providers who provided TAK with accommodation and meal support.

Images captured from this project will be featured in TAK’s new marketing collaterals and revamped website.

TAK participates in China Trade & Tourism Mission

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in a China Trade & Tourism Mission led by the Minister for Tourism, Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives (MTCIC), Honourable Bootii Nauan from 19 – 27 March 2023.

With the support of the Embassy of China in Tarawa, TAK CEO, Petero Manufolau accompanied the high-level trade delegation on bilateral discussions and visits to key tourism sites in Hainan and Guangdong Provinces.

A key highlight of the mission was the visit to China’s premier beach destination, Sanya, located on the southern tip on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

The government in Sanya, Hainan province, has laid out 117 key projects to turn the city into a national leading tourist destination with great international influence, and to promote the high-quality development of local and sustainable tourism.

Through this engagement, the delegation were introduced to concepts of marine, agriculture and culture-based tourism for tropical small island destinations where community remains an integral part of sustainable tourism development.

TAK is in the process of developing Kiribati’s sustainable tourism indicators and its sustainable tourism action plan and experiences from this mission have helped highlight new areas of focus for the destination.

China represents an opportunity for organised group travel to Kiribati. With resumption of travel from mainland China, TAK, through its Memorandum of Understanding with the China Tourism Academy (CTA), will soon begin delivering its China Market Ready programme and capacity development initiatives for local tourism operators.

TAK conducts school tourism awareness program

April 3, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) commenced its Tourism Awareness program to all Year 6 Primary Schools on South Tarawa and Betio from 24th March 2023.

This is TAK’s annual program conducted by staff of the Training and Development Division with the aim of educating students about the Tourism Industry and its contribution to the Kiribati economy and the people’s livelihood.

Now that Tourism is part of Year 6 syllabus, TAK ensures that the program included in the presentation relates to the context of Year 6 syllabus extracted from the Curriculum Development Unit of the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The 7 schools visited includes Aratokotoko Primary School, Bareaumai, Sunrise, Tebontemwaneaba, Bikenibeu West, War Memorial, and Abaunamaou.

TAK is grateful to the Ministry of Education (MoE) for endorsing this program and looks forward reaching out to all primary schools across the country.

Monitoring and Evaluation for Abemama Tourism Project

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) recognizes that Monitoring and Evaluation are critical for understanding the effectiveness of any project. Regular assessment allows it to identify successes and areas where improvements can be made and ensures accountability, allowing tourism operators to track progress and taking accountability for performance.

To this effect, TAK together with the Project Management Unit for the LDCF Project – 1 conducted its Abemama Community Based Tourism (CBT) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) session with participating communities from 13 – 17 March 2023; the island’s first since the Abemama CBT product development project was launched in October 2022.

TAK used this activity to gauge the operations and sustainability of the tourism services provided by the 5 participating communities. Through these sessions, TAK undertook an audit of each product, provided feedback to service providers and mapped out ways to improve as tourism business enterprises. Notable gaps identified through M&E session include limited online connectivity and ease of booking, online payment limitations and whole of island participation in tourism.

In addition to the 5 communities, the Abemama island council, which plays an important role on tourism development on the island, was also consulted on the progress of each CBT initiative.

TAK appreciates that success cannot be achieved overnight and is therefore committed to providing continuous support to communities and organisations engaged in CBT activities.

The 5 communities that offer CBT products in Abemama are Reina village, Baretoa village, Abatiku islet, Ainen Wiikin Abemama, and the Santo Antonio Parish Hotel.

Tabuaeran welcomes first cruise ship visit.

April 3, 2023March 15, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island, received its first post COVID-19 cruise ship on Saturday 04 March 2023.

Better known for its left-hand surf breaks, fly fishing flats with abundant Bonefish, Giant Trevally and Milk fish and an ideal all year-round tropical climate, the islander of Tabuaeran welcomed the MS Koningsdam and her 2,452 passengers with a cultural display of song and dance.

Once on land, some passengers used the opportunity to swim, snorkel and fish in the island’s azure lagoon, whilst others opted for leisurely island tour, including school visit and handicraft shopping.

Passenger Carrey Moffett said the island was “Something out about of a movie or a postcard’. He added that “this is what I picture when I hear the term ’South Pacific even though we were technically still in the North Pacific”.

A team from the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) Kiritimati officer led by Senior Tourism Officer, Tekonaba Teburea also travelled to Tabuaeran to assist the islanders with activities on the day.

Tabuaeran Is one of the few islands in Kiribati that offer the beaten track cruise ship experience. Other islands visited by cruise ships in the past include Kiritimati, Kanton, Butaritari, Tarawa and Abemama.

TAK benefits from JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program

March 1, 2023February 28, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) Tourism Officer Marketing & Promotion Ms. Maaba Katirite participated at the Knowledge Co-Creation Program on ‘Tourism Marketing and Promotion for the New Normal’ in Tokyo Japan from 20 January – 08 February 2023.

Organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Business Association, the Japan in-country program was a follow up to the online training component of the program that took place in November 2022. The four weeks online training had focused on theoretical lessons on tourism products and services delivered by different tourism organization in Japan. Participants were invited to apply similar concepts that best suited their respective destinations.

Ms. Katirite joined participants from Europe, Africa, Caribbean, and the Pacific at the three weeks training program offered in Japan. Through this in-country program, she experienced a number of Japanese tourism products including the Resort Workation Prince Hotel, Auto Camping sites, Matsumoto-ro Hotel, Glamping Site, Geo Park Museum, Peninsula Geopark Site, and the National Museum of Japan.

Through these experiences, Ms. Katirite boarded her understanding on TAK had tourism businesses, their marketing strategies, targets market, customer inclusiveness and how they dealt with COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Katirite will share her experiences with local tourism operators and provide support to those that require support with product development, marketing and promotion.

Tourism potential for Tabiteuea South Island

February 28, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

Located South of Kiribati’s capital Tarawa, Tabiteuea South is an island shrouded in myths and legends, some which date back to the creation of the island. One such myth is the story of Teueanikai (a tree), which legend has it that the branches of the Teueanikai gave way to the formation of the island of Tabiteuea.

Today, the island is divided into two, Tabiteuea Meang (North) and Tabiteuea Maiaki (South). History has it that a bloody massacre at the shores of Tewai village was initiated by the people of the North in attempt to convert the people of Tab South to Christianity. This battle site is today called Buruburu terara which in English translates to bloodshed.

In a quest to learn more about the island’s intriguing history, Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) Assistant Tourism Officer Garstang Bitauea joined a constituency visit delegation to Tabiteuea South led by the Minister for Tourism, Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives (MTCIC), Honourable Booti Nauan.

During the island tour, Mr. Bitauea took the opportunity to undertake tourism awareness across all villages on the island, highlighting the benefits of tourism, and the role of TAK. The program also included a guided tour of all historical sites led by the Unimwane (elderly men) group called Teueanikai. These historical sites were plotted and recorded and will be updated in the island visitor map.

Mr. Bitauea also conducted the Tourism Business Inventory Survey on the island’s 2 accommodation providers, Santo Betero Parish Hotel and Tab-South Island Council Guesthouse. Information gathered will be shared as visitor information and for used for destination promotion.

TAK recognises that there is potential for Tab South to incorporate the island’s myths and legends through storytelling and historical site preservation into their destination product mix. Equally important will be the engagement of the islanders to actively participate in cultural and heritage preservation.

Kiritimati island Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS)

February 28, 2023 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted its first Tourism Business Inventory Survey for 2023 in Kiritimati Island from 30^th January to 3^rd February.

TAK took the opportunity during the survey to encourage all Kiritimati Island tourism accommodation and businesses operators to begin preparing their properties and facilities for when commercial flights to the island resumes.

Through the survey, TAK gathered tourism data and information to be used for visitor’s information and marketing purposes.

The survey confirmed that Kiritimati Island has a total of 9 accommodation providers of which 8 were surveyed. These include The Village Hotel. Lagoon View Resort, The Inn Pacific, Little Flower, IKARI House, Dive & Fishing Adventure Lodge and Port Apartment Service. The Captain Cook Hotel was not included in this year survey due to its ongoing maintenance and renovation.

Kiritimati currently has a total of 65 rooms inventory available on the island with 126 beds and 11 units (8 kiakia & 3 huts) with 12 beds.

Tourism Authority Kiribati