Tourism Authority Kiribati

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Kiribati hosts first post COVID-19 International meeting

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The Government of Kiribati (GoK) through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resource Development (MFMRD) hosted the Forum Fisheries Agency’s Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) meeting in Tarawa from 20 – 27 August 2022.

This was the first international meeting hosted in the country following Kiribati border re-opening on 01 August 2022. The event welcomed delegates and representatives from 17 Pacific member countries including Australia and New Zealand.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) recognises the FFC meeting as Kiribati’s initial introduction to the new normal in international post COVID-19 meetings and conferences market. Given the success of the event, TAK envisages that more regional and international meetings can be hosted in Kiribati, now that international travel is returning to normalcy.

TAK was also part of the organizing committee for this high-level meeting and collaborated with local inbound operator Kiribati Holidays for delegate activities.

The event has also been a great opportunity for local accommodation providers to boost their revenue through rooms revenue, food & beverage services and other activities.

 

 

Community-based tourism product development progressing in Butaritari

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) community-based tourism product development on Butaritari island is continuing following the recent 10 days programme carried out by TAK’s Tourism Officer, Product Development Kiarake Karuaki in August 2022.

Ms. Karuaki’s recent activities involved engagement with participating communities to improve their business initiatives and service offering. To achieve this, communities participated in revenue management, customer service, Mauri Mark standards, market analysis, niche tourism products, marketing and promotions training.

Communities engaged in this product development programme includes Keuea village, Tanimaiaki village, Antekana, Ukiangang, Bikati and Sunset Isles lodge, a local accommodation provider.

Butaritari is known as the most fertile agricultural island in Kiribati and played a strategic role in the Pacific campaign of WWll. The community-based tourism products developed under this program therefore focuses on niche experiences such as WWll battlefield tours, traditional culinary experience with farm to table and reef to fork concepts, Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and conservation guided tours, mangrove forest and farming tours.

The program concluded with a trial of each product which reaffirmed to participating communities the need for a whole of island approach to tourism development on Butaritari and that service providers plays an important role in elevating visitor experiences on the island.

TAK will conduct the remaining preparatory work for the Butaritari community-based tourism development and officially launch the products for sale in November 2022.

 

 

Kiritimati WASH Policy to benefit Tourism

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 The Kiritimati WASH Policy development workshop on 16 and 17 August 2022 provided the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) officers in Kiritimati an excellent opportunity to better understand the importance of water and sanitation in tourism.

The workshop discussed opportunities to improve access to water and sanitation services on the island. TAK views the improvement in hygiene practices as essential to helping tourism businesses achieve 100% compliance to COVID-19 health and safety protocols once the island’s border reopens.

TAK’s participation in the review and drafting of the WASH Action Plan and Budget at the workshop also provided the tourism officers a better understanding of how it can assist tourism business operators implement key recommendations of the WASH policy once finalised.

It is envisaged that the Kiritimati WASH policy will support tourism in Kiritimati Island as it will encourage the water conservation system for all tourism business operators.

The Kiritimati WASH policy will aim to provide a framework that will improve access to water and sanitation services and to change hygienic practices in Kiritimati.

The workshop was hosted by the Kiritimati Urban Council, facilitated by the Kiribati Local Government Association (KILGA) and is funded by Wash project in Kiritimati, with financial assistance from the European Union and New Zealand government.

 

TAK joins 80th anniversary commemoration of the bombing of Keuea village

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On 17 August, 1942, US Marines and Carlson Raiders attacked the local Japanese garrison (est. 160 Japanese troops), and destroyed installations and seaplane bombers on the island of Butaritari (Makin).

In retaliation, Japanese war planes were sent from the Marshall Islands to Makin Butaritari on the 18th August, instructed to bomb the second village from the South anticipating that the 9 Americans were still hiding there.  The bombers instead mistakenly bombed Keuea village, the second village from the North and in process killed 48 innocent Keuea villagers.

On Saturday 27th August 2022, a high-level delegation led by the Honourable Minister for Information, Communications and Transport (MICT) Honourable Tekeeua Tarati, Minister for Tourism, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MTCIC) Honourable Bootii Nauan and the Minister for Education (MoE) Honourable Alex Teabo joined the people of Keuea to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of their village in 1942.

It was a sombre occasion as the commemoration began with a march parade by children and adults of Keuea village, followed by a flag raising ceremony and the singing of both the Kiribati national anthem and the Butaritari song.

Also in attendance was US Embassy Suva, Fiji, Chargé d’Affaires Tony Greubel who joined Honourable Tarati and elders of Keuea in placing their wreaths at the commemoration monument.

The event concluded with traditional Kiribati entertainment and a sumptuous island feast prepared by the village.

Remnants of WWll are still visible throughout Butaritari and the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is working with local authorities and international partners to preserve and promote the island for battlefield tours.

 

 

WWII Battle of Tarawa Tour Resumes

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The Battle of Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during WWII. Fought between 20 – 24 November 1943 between the American marines and Japanese soldiers, this significant event in Kiribati’s history claimed a total of 1,113 US marines, and 4,690 Japanese soldiers and Korean labourers.

Remnants of this event are still visible throughout Betio island, South Tarawa and can now be enjoyed by travellers through organised tours, now that Kiribati’s international border are open.

On 11 August 2022, US Embassy, Suva, Fiji dignitaries, led by Chargé d’Affaires Tony Greubel were amongst the first group of international visitors to enjoy a fully guided tour of the WWll relics and monuments on Betio.

The tour coordinated by a local inbound tour operator Kiribati Holidays. Tour guide Ms. Toka Rakobu provided the group detailed history on the battle of Tarawa, battlefield relics and the group paid their respects to their fallen Marines at the US Marines memorial at the Sports Complex.

Click here for more information on Battlefield Tours

TAK participates in Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme

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Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) Senior Tourism Marketing and Promotion Officer Ms Sarah Botaake Teetu participated in a Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) short course. Titled ‘Embracing Digital Transformation for Tourism in the New-Norm’ – Strategies in Developing and Managing Sustainable Muslim Friendly Destinations and Product, the vitual training was held on 22 – 30 August 2022.

The training also presented Ms. Teetu the opportunity to conduct destination presentation to participants from the Africa, Arab and Asian nations.

Ms Teetu seized the opportunity to better understand digital opportunity for tourism destination management and explore Malaysia’s niche tourism segments. The programme also discussed the rise of millennial travel and how to better understand and accommodate their needs through digital marketing.

Participants also used the opportunity to learn basic Malaysian language and participated in a virtual tour of the Melaka River, a prominent Malaysian attraction.

The training concluded with discussions on critical success factors in ensuring smooth and successful transformation toward digitalisation from tourism perspectives and initiative to enhance tourism sector in the new norm through digitalisation.

Abaiang ready to welcome travellers

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The organic island of Abaiang, known for its brilliant white sandy beaches and beautiful turquois water is now ready to welcome international travellers following the completion of Covid-19 Safety Protocol refresher training conducted by the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK).

Delivered to accommodation operators, the refresher training reminded participants of the importance of maintaining high levels of hygiene and COVID-19 preventative measures to ensure traveller safety.

As part of the training, TAK presented the results of the monitoring and evaluation assessment report conducted earlier this year. This report shared compliance ratings of accommodations and restaurants providers to the COVID-19 safety protocols in Abaiang, North Tarawa, South Tarawa and Abemama

Participants of the Abaiang COVID-19 Safety Protocol training included representatives from Te Runga n Aine Guest House, Ocean Breeze Bungalow, Terau Beach Bungalow and Teirio Islet Escape.

Kiribati US Tourism Pro-fellows to give back to Community

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Hawaii’s East West Centre has over the years hosted a number of Kiribati tourism young professionals in its Tourism Professional Fellow program. Conducted on cohorts of up to 20 participants, the program included leadership and mentorship program across various tourism related sectors in Hawaii and a 1-week global conference in Washington DC, USA.

Pro-fellows alumni in Tarawa met with US Embassy Press & Media Coordinator and former Fiji US Alumni (FUSA) President, Miss Maggie Boyle to discuss the establishment of a Kiribati US Alumni chapter.

Ms Boyle shared her experiences of what an alumni could achieve and the support mechanisms in place to help Kiribati US Alumni create a positive impact in their respective professional environment and communities.

There are over 80 US Alumni in Kiribati and the Tourism Pro-fellows hopes to reach out to each one of them to begin discussions on how their US professional development experiences can be best utilised to benefit local communities.

TAK completes Pacific SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit training

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Five officers from the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) completed the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) five (5) weeks virtual SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit Training of Trainer’s program on 19 August 2022.

The SPTO SME Tourism Recovery Toolkit is designed to support tourism SME’s in the Pacific respond, adapt and diversify their products and services through and improved understanding of the changing tourism market and travel demands post COVID-19.

The online training was based on seven (7) modules and included evolving market trends, product design and adaption, health, safety and security considerations, pricing techniques, market access, customer service and online sales and marketing.

The program focused on training local training providers at country level to facilitate trainings for the industry as needed.

TAK staffs that participated also included two (2) Kiritimati Island officers. Together, they will deliver Tourism SME Recovery training to all tourism business operators across Kiribati.

TAK releases Kiribati Tourism Industry Review, Q2 – 2022

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) has released the Kiribati Tourism Industry Review for the second quarter of 2022.

The report reveals that domestic air travel reduced by 22% compared to the previous quarter. Maritime domestic travel grew by 52% compared to Q1 2022.

Employment in the tourism industry also increased by 0.7% from the previous quarter. Room and bed inventory increased by 3% and 1% respectively for the same period.

Other tourism related data are also presented in the report including tourism employment by gender, most visited outer islands, international arrivals and departures.

TAK wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Air Kiribati Limited, the Marine Guard, Immigration department and the tourism and accommodation operators that supplied data for the purpose of this report.

Click here to view the report.