Tourism Solomons hosts top Australia/NZ Travel Media

Building on its ongoing strategy to promote the huge range of cultural and adventure activities the Solomon Islands offers international visitors, Tourism Solomons last week hosted three prominent Australian and New Zealand travel writers.

A key part of the national tourist office’s International Media Visitation Program (IMVP), the trio, – Vacations & Travel Editor Helen Hayes and freelancers Daniel Scott and Eleanor Hughes – took part in an immersive program designed to show the many different activities visitors can enjoy while visiting Munda, the Marovo Lagoon and Honiara.

The group’s busy itinerary included cultural performances and village visits, SCUBA diving, snorkelling and island hopping in the Marovo Lagoon as well as being given insight into the destination’s unique WWII history in Munda and Honiara.

The visit was the fourth media group hosted this year, previous groups from Australia and New Zealand having visited Gizo, Munda and Rendova Island in the Western Province.

These itineraries were specifically designed to dovetail with and emphasise   Solomon Airlines’ direct Auckland and Brisbane same day services into  Munda International Airport which commenced last February.

Malaita, the Ngela Islands  and Santa Isabel have also been featured in media visits with the spotlight shone on culture, WWII history, SCUBA diving, fishing and surfing.

Plans are also underway to host two high profile Australian influencers in early June with a Kolombangara trek forming a main part of their visit.

Itinerary content is again geared to showcase direct services into Munda International Airport.

Specialised adventure, sports fishing and birdwatching media are also confirmed to  visit later this year.

Hosting the three travel writers at a farewell dinner at the Heritage Park Hotel, Tourism Solomons Acting CEO, Dagnal Dereveke said a key objective of the IMVP was to leverage media exposure to highlight the Solomon Islands’ diverse tourism offerings to potentially millions of readers.

‘Having our media guests visit as many different parts of the country, the ‘destinations within the destination’ and write about their experiences gives us a powerful platform to showcase our rich cultural heritage and extensive adventure tourism opportunities” Mr Dereveke said.

“While much of our past activity has focused on the main tourism corridors, particularly the Western Province, the IMVP is proving highly successful in shifting the spotlight to a broader range of destinations across the country.”