Tourism Solomons on song with Bonfire Festival sponsorship

Honiara, Solomon Islands – Hailing last weekend’s Melanesian music-oriented Bonfire Festival in Honiara a major success, Bronze sponsor Tourism Solomons has described the event as providing an ideal blueprint for any local event planners –  be the event musical, cultural or sporting – to start looking  at ways these events can be promoted in overseas markets.

Tourism Solomons CEO (acting), Dagnal Dereveke said the national tourist office’s (NTO) goal in sponsoring the Bonfire Festival and other events was two-fold.

Firstly to help establish these events on a local basis by building local interest and then, once fully established, to play a further role in helping to promote the events in overseas markets with a view to attracting international visitor attendance.

“Our Melanesian neighbours are currently our fastest growing source of international visitation*,” Mr Dereveke said.

“The Bonfire Festival is a great example of why, with the event being promoted in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu where several of the musicians are based, we experienced an influx of music fans from both those countries,” Mr Dereveke said.

“If we can do this with the Bonfire Festival, I see no reason why are can’t promote other of our unique festivals in our overseas markets,” he said, citing Malaita’s Shell Money Festival, Santa Catalina’s Wogasia Festival  and Temotu Province’s Honiara-based Tinakula Festival as ideal examples.”

As per its charter, Tourism Solomons has traditionally focused on  the development of partnerships, training and branding in overseas markets,  its role to promote the many and varied opportunities the destination offers to international travellers.

But the NTO  also has good experience in redirecting its resources towards helping the domestic market.

In July 2020, Tourism Solomons took the unusual step of refocusing its marketing efforts in order to help support the domestic tourism sector crippled by an enforced border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This included strong involvement alongside the Ministry of Culture & Tourism (MCT) and Solomon Airlines in the launch of the ‘Solomons Holidays’ domestic travel initiative (originally launched as ‘Iumi Tugeda Holidays’) which played a huge role in helping to keep the tourism sector afloat during the 800-day border closure.

“The domestic holiday program was a major success at the time, bringing in much-needed revenue, keeping businesses open, people in work and food on the table for many families while our international border was closed,” Mr Dereveke  said.

In more recent times, Tourism Solomons has also been involved in a number of local events including the annual Solomon Airlines Peace Marathon and related Guadalcanal WWII Anniversary activities, fishing, surfing and other sporting events, and most recently,  the Miss Tourism campaign and MCT-led Peace March.

“We have an amazing calendar of events showcasing our unique culture and traditions, all of which provide invaluable marketing content for us to promote our country’s vibrancy and attractions via social media, websites, and promotional materials,” Mr Dereveke said.

“These events have the potential to stimulate the local economy by drawing visitors who spend money on accommodation, food, and activities.

“As importantly, local support for these events engenders a sense of community pride and encourages residents to engage with the tourism sector.

“This in turn creates a welcoming environment for domestic and international visitors.”

*PNG visitor arrivals to the Solomon islands for the period January to June 2024 increased by 106 percent while visitation from Vanuatu for the same period grew by 125 percent.