Taare Rikiai – Page 39 – Kaongora Newsletter

President declares a public state of emergency for Kiribati

April 2, 2020April 1, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Honourable President Taneti Maamau declared Kiribati in a state of public emergency on Thursday 26 March 2020.

President Maamau confirmed that Kiribati was declared among other Pacific Islands to be in a state of emergency of COVID-19. He expressed that the alarming number of people infected with the pandemic around the world puts Kiribati in a very vulnerable state.

Kiribati is currently on Level 2 alert after a passenger displayed mild symptoms of the COVID-19 flu a week ago. The individual is currently self-isolating at his family home.

In his address, President Maamau strongly advised that the public observe all COVID-19 control measures announced by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS). These include minimizing public gatherings, maintaining the recommended 2 meters social distancing practice and a 20 seconds hand-wash after touching anything.

TAK Participates in the Integrated Vulnerability Assessment of Butaritari Island

March 30, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) was part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) funded Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (IVA) in Butaritari from 22-29 March 2020. The team visited all the villages to discuss and assess the vulnerability issues experienced by people and the main objective of the survey was to identify climate change challenges experienced by the local people of Butaritari.

The IVA team consisted of officers from different sectors of government including the Fisheries Division, the Agricultural Division, the Tourism Authority, Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Environment and Conservation Division, Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperation and the Kiribati Island Local Government Association (KILGA).

The team complete the IVA survey and also conducted their individual sector activities which will be incorporated into the final report of the IVA of Butaritari.

TAK conducted the Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS) at the four accommodations collecting data and information on the services and facilities provided by these properties. The accommodations were The Santa Theresa Guesthouse (at the Vatican), the Island Council Guesthouse, Nei Tebon Guesthouse and the Sunset Lodge.

The TBIS was followed by the GPS mapping and plotting of these properties and other tourism-related sites (eg, shrines, historical monuments, churches, clinics). This will allow for the development of a detailed map which will serve as a travel guide to both locals and international visitors.

Buatritari island is very fertile and has an abundant fruits (especially bananas), vegetables and crops which are difficult to grow on other islands. Its people have a unique accent which is easily recognizable by all locals and most of the Butaritari guesthouses are made of traditional material with a few made of concrete.

The IVA concluded with a council meeting where the mayor, Te Kinati (Unimwaane or elderly men), clerk, island councilors and the IVA team discussed the outcomes of the assessment. TAK also had the opportunity to provide updates and recommendations on the preparations for the cruise ship arrival scheduled for the 05 November at Notururu islet previously known as Bikaati islet.

TAK participates in the Regional Tourism Statistic workshop

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Kiribati was represented by TAK at the workshop held in Nadi Fiji, from 10^th-13^th March with the goal of developing a regional tourism statistics strategy as well as a regional sustainable tourism framework for the Pacific.

The first 2 days of the workshop aimed at validating the findings from a regional assessment of tourism statistical systems and getting feedback from the countries on the recommendations and actions to improve tourism statistical systems at regional and national level.

The assessment was carried out by PARIS21 – a global partnership of statistics experts and policy makers seeking to improve evidence-based decision making in developing countries in collaboration with the Pacific Tourism Organisation. The assessment was carried out in October and November of 2019 and the draft report was presented for validation at the workshop.

The last 2 days of the workshop aimed at obtaining stakeholder feedback on the long-term vision and priorities that will underpin the development of a regional sustainable tourism framework for the Pacific.

The outcomes from the workshops will be endorsed at the SPTO Board of Directors meeting later in the year.

Representatives from 11 SPTO-member National Tourism Organizations and selected National Statistics Offices were present at the workshop along with 6 partners which include PARIS21, the Asian Development Bank, The Pacific Community, the United Nations Development Programme (Pacific Office, Suva), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Australia Pacific Training Coalition.

The workshop was jointly funded by PARIS21, SPTO, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and APTC.

Nikunau Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (IVA) and Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS)

April 1, 2020March 30, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in the whole island approach-Integrated Vulnerability Assessment of Nikunau from 24 February – 04 Match 2020. The objective of the mission was to assess the vulnerabilities of the island and to collect IVA data of the impacts of climate change on the island of Nikunau. The program was coordinated by the Climate Change Office under the Office of the President and funded by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A total of 6 villages were visited and as well as 2 communities in Nikumanu and 3 communities in Rungata.

The survey questions focused on the ecosystem, infrastructure, finance, human resources and institution or governance; forest health, coastal health, water security, security of place, energy security, income security, community health and food security. All responses were recorded in the fulcrum-based app on tablets supplied by the Office of te Beretitenti.

Whilst in the island, TAK staff officer undertook a Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS) conducted on the island which involved the database update of accommodation providers on Nikunau and GPS (Global Positioning System) of accommodation, historical sites, churches and other points of interest in the island. The two accommodation providers in the island are the Catholic Parish Guesthouse and the KUC Tabutoa Guesthouse.

All information gathered will be used by TAK to help promote tourism development on the island.

Tourism Awareness Campaign in South Tarawa schools

March 30, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Two officers from the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted a tourism awareness program to all Primary Schools on South Tarawa and Betio from 16 March 2020.

This is an annual program conducted from TAK’s Training and Development Division and the aim of the program is to educate students about the Tourism Industry and its contribution to the Kiribati economy and the people’s livelihood.

Tourism Awareness Campaign targets class six students only and the program includes a presentation which TAK ensures relates to the context of the children’s syllabus extracted from the Curriculum Development Unit (Ministry of Education).

Eight (s) schools have been visited so far and these include, Aratokotoko Primary School, Bareaumai, Sunrise, Bikenibeu West, War Memorial, Tebwanimwaneka, Abaunamaou, and Taaken Bairiki.

TAK will continue with this program once school resumes in the second term.

Tourism Business Inventory Survey in North Tarawa

March 24, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Tourism Survey at North Tarawa

Tourism Authority of Kiribati conducted the annual Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS) of accommodations in North Tarawa on Thursday 19 March 2020.

The purpose of the survey was to collect and update information and data on facilities and services available in North Tarawa. The collected data is used to update TAK’s accommodation database which is a key source of accommodation information managed by the Research and Statistics Division.

Information and data collected from TBIS includes number of rooms, beds, staff count, facilities, amenities and activities provided by each property.

Nine (9) properties were surveyed on the day and they included the Ocean View Hotel, Moturerei Legend, Taborio Guesthouse, Eutan Buariki Guesthouse, Tarabuka Hideaway Guesthouse, Uaai Island Getaway, Tabuki Retreat, Santa Faustina Homestay and Tabon Te Keeke.

Surveyed properties range from locally built huts with open Kiakia (local raised house), meeting house (Maneaba) and concrete with local thatched roof.

The survey results showed that some properties had undertaken improvement works by providing more guest activities and upgraded/ renovated their rooms and Kiakia over the last 12 months.

North Tarawa properties are spread across the lagoon side of the atoll and have the comparative advantage of the beautiful lagoon views and its turquoise color and proximity to local communities.

Hospitality Training for Ronton and Tabwakea Village in Kiritimati Island

February 27, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Two villages in Kiritimati Island, Ronton and Tabwakea received training on Hospitality Services from the Tourism Authority of Kiribati on the 29th to 31st of January and 19th to 21st of February 2020.

Ronton was the first village to receive the training which was conducted on the 29th to 31st of January with 13 participants attending the training while 29 participants from Tabwakea Village attended the training that was conducted on the 19th to 21st of February 2020.

The main purpose of the training was to provide basic skills and knowledge on hospitality services to those who are interested to work at any tourism and hospitality sectors in the future. Three areas of hospitality services that were carried out during the training which were; customer service, basic front office skills and basic housekeeping skills.

Preparing Kiritimati Island Sea Port for Cruise Vessels

February 27, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

In preparation for upcoming Cruise Vessels to Kiritimati Island this year, a sounding survey was conducted by the Kiribati Port of Authority, Civil Engineering & Technical Unit, HMMD and Tourism Authority of Kiribati on Friday 14th February 2020 to provide spots or sites that need to be dredged.

The survey resulted from last year cancellation of cruise calls to Kiritimati Island concerning the shallowness of the Ronton Channel which prevented tender boats to cross over to the jetty. Since there is no other channel on Kiritimati for tender boats, the Ronton Channel should be deepened to a required depth of 5 meters.

Part of the preparation involves a cleaning campaign which was conducted at Tabontekee on the same day as the survey. Staffs of the Ministry of Lines and Phoenix Islands Development, Government agencies and some private operators were part of this cleaning campaign which will be conducted every week on Fridays.

Community Tourism Promotion Training in Japan

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

The Community Tourism Promotion training was held on the 28^th January 2020 and ended on the 12^th February 2020, and was funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the short-term training was under the JICA knowledge Co-Creation Program for Young Leaders. This short training targeted different participants from different Pacific Island Countries (Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu).

The training was attended by different participants from different Pacific Island Countries mentioned earlier and was also attended by one of the staff at the Tourism Authority of Kiribati. The main purpose of the training is to train Pacific Island Countries Young Leaders on the basic knowledge and skills on Ecotourism, tourism promotion and community involvement in tourism at different regions in Japan. The three visited sites in Japan are Obihiro, Kushiro and Akan region. The training contents contains a very informative information concerning tourism promotion involving local communities, it also covers basic knowledge and skills and other important scenarios concerning Ecotourism and Community Tourism Promotion which can be adopted in the Pacific which can therefore help boost tourism promotion in the Pacific.

The training was conducted first at the JICA center in Obihiro on the 28^th January till 1^st February 2020, then the training group transferred from Obihiro JICA Center to Kushiro region on the 1^st February 2020 till 12^th February 2020. On the 5^th February the group then visited Akan Lake Resorts for learning more about the Community Tourism Promotion and also to experience the Ice Lake activities.

On the 12^th February 2020, a formal completion ceremony was held at the Kushiro City Central Library Hall where participants awarded with the certification of completion. The Completion Ceremony marks the end of the short-term training on the Community Tourism Promotion.

Tourism Authority participates in LDCF retreat for year 2020 costed workplan

January 25, 2020 by Taare Rikiai

Two staff from TAK (Tourism Authority of Kiribati) were amongst 29 participants from different Government Ministry departments that took part in a weekend retreat held at Abaokoro, North Tarawa from the 13th-15th of December 2019.

The retreat was hosted by the Project Management Unit under the LDCF-I (Least Developed Countries Fund) Project. It is funded by the GEF (Global Environment Facility) Program under the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and implemented under the Environment and Conservation Division with the support of the United Nations Development Programme.

The purpose of the retreat was to review and finalise the activities for the 3 project islands, and devise a workplan and budget for the year 2020. It also allowed for the different stakeholders to devise ways in which they can work together on joint mission strategies. The members of the retreat comprised of 9 ministries, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resource Development, Local Government Division, Culture and Museum Division, Environment and Conservation Division, Agriculture and livestock division, Ministry of Commerce and Industrial Cooperatives, Tourism Authority of Kiribati, Kiribati Local Government Association and Kiribati Meteorological Service.

TAK was able to discuss with the various departments regarding collaborative efforts to be able to achieve its objectives of demonstrating a community- based tourism management model. This is planned through development of community based sportfishing and complementary niche products business plan, capacity building and marketing and promotions and ensuring that the islands of Nonouti, Abemama and Maiana are tourism ready.

Tourism Authority Kiribati