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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.

The islet of Betio and South Tarawa was a hive of activities on Saturday 18 February 2023 when the Pacific Island destination of Kiribati welcomed its first international cruise ship visit since border reopening.

The Amadea Shipping Company owned MS Amadea operates under charter by the Germany-based Phoenix Reisen and carried 523 passengers and 302 crew.

Visitors were welcomed at the Port of Betio with entertainment from the Kiribati Police Services Brass Band, local choir and the traditional Kiribati dances.

Guests, 90 percent of whom were German nationals were treated to a showcase of Kiribati’s unique a vibrant culture through dance, song and art while some took the opportunity for a swim before returning to the ship.

Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) CEO, Petero Manufolau said “this cruise ship visit was an opportunity for Betio and South Tarawa to showcase the local culture and scenic beauty of the island and it was encouraging to witness local communities coming together to deliver an unforgettable experience for our visitors”.  Manufolau added that cruise ship tourism is also about contribution to the local economy, and he expressed TAK’s appreciation to all vendors who came out to help complete the Kiribati visitor experience on the day.

Kiribati is scheduled to receive its next cruise ship call at Tabuaeran (Fanning Island) in March 2023.

Kiritimati Island in the west of Kiribati welcome the world’s first sunrise of 2023 through a dawn event of song and dance at the island’s Tabon Te Kee Beach in Rondon (London) on Sunday 01 January 2023.

The celebration was streamed live through the Visit Kiribati Facebook page and attracted followers from around the world.

The program included traditional songs and dance, performances and demonstrations of traveller activities such as fishing.

Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands (MLPID) Officer in Charge, Mrs Meremera Temari, delivered a New Year welcome address and invited viewers to enjoy the activities presented by the people of Kiritimati Island.

Kiritimati Island is a world-class fly-fishing destination and boasts some of the world’s most remote and pristine golden sand beaches, turquoise lagoon and abundant array of marine life.  The island’s international border is expected to be opened to international travellers in early 2023.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) has from 01 January 2023 begun administering the enforcement and implementation of licenses for tourism accommodation establishment and tourism enterprises.

Through a provision under the Tourism Act, 2018, TAK’s licensing administration roles now means that all resorts, hotels, lodges and accommodation providers in Kiribati will register and pay annual licensing fees to TAK.

Following consultations with stakeholders, TAK had worked with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to formalize its licensing role though the development of the Kiribati Tourism Operator’s Registration & Licensing Regulation 2022. The regulation outlines the processes through which TAK will administer the licensing of tourism enterprises and will conduct an information session with all related tourism operators at its upcoming Tourism Maroro (forum).

As the country’s National Tourism Office, TAK is duty bound to ensure that tourism licensing fees are re-invested back into the tourism industry through destination standard development, tourism workforce capacity building and destination marketing.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in the World Food Day Celebration in Kiritimati Island from 9-16 December 2022. This one-week event was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Land and Agricultural Development (MELAD).

As part of the program, TAK carried out its tourism awareness programs and roadshow campaigns on island cleanliness, solid waste management, and on the economic, social cultural and environmental benefits of tourism.

TAK also had the opportunity to participate in activities that support sustainable tourism in Kiritimati such as Mobile Gardening, plastic pick-a-thon, planting of palm trees and pandanus tress at Cassidy airport and plastic exchange.

The event completed with a competition for local gardeners and farmers to showcase their farming and harvesting skills. The celebration was also an opportunity for local farmers to sell their fresh produce.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) conducted a Mauri Mark Assessment and the Tourism Business Inventory Survey on Fanning Island on 14-15 November 2022.

The Mauri Mark is part of TAK’s Tourism Restart Program and involves the assessment of licensed accommodation providers. The assessment criteria for Kiribati hotels and lodges include business operations, fire safety procedures, health & safety hygiene standards, facilities including in-room facilities, environmental sustainability practices and guest support services.

Four (4) accommodation establishments on the island were assessed, Ala Belle Etoite Guesthouse, Otan Aba Guesthouse, Biritita Guesthouse and Santo Kabiriera Guesthouse. Three of the properties were found to have not met most of the Mauri Mark standards and have been advised and consulted on the needs to follow all the standards and criteria. The three properties will be assessed again next year.

The team also had the opportunity to conduct the Tourism Business Inventory Survey (TBIS) on the island. The main purpose of the survey is to collect data and information on the services and facilities provided by accommodations. The reports indicates that there are no changes in the data and information collected compared to the 2021 survey.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is continuing its Visitor Satisfaction Survey (VSS) over this busy festive season period.

Launched in October 2022, the VSS program involves the dissemination of electronic customer satisfaction survey forms to international and local travellers who stay at local hotels and licensed accommodation providers.

To encourage visitor engagement, TAK visited hotels in South Tarawa to brief them on the importance of the VSS and how to capture relevant visitor details for inclusion in the survey.

The VSS provides insights into the guests’ satisfaction with their accommodation along with its facilities and services.

The surveys are anonymous, and no names are recorded. The results are then analyzed and shared with the individual hotels on a monthly basis.

The VSS program is one way TAK ensures that all hotels are meeting or exceeding their guests’ expectations and addressing customer service shortfalls reported by guests.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Carl Obst and Mr. Mark Lound as Sustainability Data Specialists to support the organisation and the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives (MTCIC) develop suitable indicators to measure the Kiribati tourism industry performance.

Through this project, TAK aims to develop a more holistic understanding of tourism’s benefits and costs beyond the traditional measure of International Visitor Arrival (IVA) and tourism contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. These will include the costs and benefits to of tourism to economic development, environmental preservation and social well-being across Kiribati communities.

Carl Obst is a Director at the Institute for Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting – IDEEA Group. He was the lead author and editor of the United Nation’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) – the international standard for government work on accounting for natural capital. Prior to this work, Carl had a long career with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, including time at the OECD. His current work involves projects on natural capital accounting and sustainability measurement within the United Nations system, with the Capitals Coalition and with various companies and governments in Australia and internationally. Carl is a leading player in closing the gap between government and corporate approaches to natural capital accounting.

Mark Lound has extensive statistical experience managing the statistical operations of Tourism Australia and the Bureau of Immigration and Population Research as well as leading teams across economic and social statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Of particular relevance to this assignment, he has of recent times worked with Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) and PARIS21 on a major assessment of tourism statistics in the Pacific and developed a Pacific Tourism Statistics Strategy (PTSS), the UNWTO assessing sustainable tourism statistics for Saudi Arabia, and assisted Kiribati with the analysis and presentation of results from their International Visitor Survey.

In the first part of 2022 he completed an assignment working with the ADB and Tourism Fiji to improve methodologies for measuring visitor expenditure in Fiji and provided expert oversight for the UNWTO Workshop on Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism for Asia and the Pacific.

This project is funded through the Asiad Development Banks’ (ADB) Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) and is scheduled to be completed in April 2023.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) applauds the Ministry of Environment, Lands & Agricultural Development (MELAD) for the successful implementation of the metal waste compacting program in Betio, South Tarawa.

Implemented through MELAD’s Environment Conservation Division (ECD) and funded by the Government of New Zealand, the program is administered by scrap metal recycling company Maucalay Metals Limited and environment project management company, Argo Environmental.

The project began on 01 November and has so far collected more than three hundreds (300) transport metal waste. Using bail type crushing machines, the wrecked vehicles are compacted and reduced to cubes ready for shipment to metal waste recycling plants overseas.

TAK acknowledges that this project will help address Tarawa’s wrecked vehicle waste management challenges and will contribute to the overall look and cleanliness of the island.

TAK also appreciates the efforts of the various Government ministries, NGO’s and communities that work collectively to help address solid waste management in Tarawa. These initiatives contribute to the enhancement of the Kiribati visitor experience.