Source : The National, Papua New Guinea, 17 Apr '07
By : The National
  

In some countries ecotourism is also taken to mean tourism that has very little impact on the natural environment, even to the extent of implementing measures like composting toilets, raised walkways and solar power to make ecotourism facilities environmentally friendly.

Australian Aaron Hayes, who runs Ecotourism Melanesia, a Port Moresby-based inbound tour company which specialises in sending tourists into the rural areas of Papua New Guinea, is one those who takes a special interest.

"Here in PNG, we use the word 'ecotourism' more generally to mean 'nature and culture based tourism'," Hayes expounds.

"Other catchphrases these days are 'responsible tourism' and 'community-based tourism'.

"Responsible tourism denotes tourism that cares for both the environment and the local people by ensuring that the tourism activity treads softly on the environment and also has decent benefits for local communities.

"These days many tourists browsing holiday pamphlets and websites tend to ask tour operators for information about how their tours benefit local communities.

"Community-based tourism involves tourism ventures that are actually owned and operated by people who live in the community area where the tourism activity takes place.

"For example village guest houses and village tours.

"Over at Tufi the Dive Resort takes groups of tourists to see a demonstration of sago-making in a local village beginning with cutting the sago stands and ending with cooking and eating the sago in somebody's home and this is an excellent example of community-based tourism.

"Some community-based tourism ventures like village guest houses are run by individuals and families whereas larger ventures like a Wildlife Management Area or village singsing experience might involve the whole village.

"Community-based tourism enterprises owned by whole villages are generally not sustainable here in PNG because there are too many hands out for a share and the income from the enterprise is generally too low to satisfy every shareholder's expectations.

"Many politicians and donors have given money to kick-start village-based lodges and eco-resorts but how many of them are still operating today?

"Not many.

"Generally they collapse due to poor management, lack of marketing, and disputes which arise when shareholders are not satisfied with the amount of money they are receiving compared to the effort they are giving.

"One sad case is the Kamiali Guest House in Morobe which is owned by the Lababia Village community and situated in a magnificent Wildlife Management Area.

"This place could be the biggest ecotourism attraction in PNG but it is poorly marketed and poorly managed.

"My company refuses to send any more tourists there after a number of our clients reported disappointment with the accommodation and tour activities there."

These days many tourism destinations in our region have focused on mass tourism that caters for the Australian holiday market, what we call "beach-and-palm-tree tourism".

These tourists don't mind if they go to Fiji or Bali, whichever one is cheaper, as long as there's a beach with palm trees and a nice resort with a swimming pool.

If you look at the pamphlets and advertisements put out by tourism operators in Malaysia, Bali, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Samoa and even the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, you'll see that they are all advertising the same thing: a resort holiday by the beach where tourists can relax and enjoy themselves.

"If PNG tries to compete in the beach-and-palm-tree mass tourism market we are doomed," Hayes warns.

"PNG doesn't have enough postcard-perfect white beaches in accessible locations where resorts can be built, and even if we did there are too many turn-offs in PNG that resort developers will shy away from including the urban crime problem, a generally violent society nationwide, health risks like malaria and TB and the mess created by betel nut everywhere.

"If beach-and-palm tree tourists have a choice between a resort in PNG and a resort in Vanuatu or Queensland, they won't pick PNG because in many ways PNG is less visually attractive and coming here involves higher risk for the traveler.

"Last year my company made arrangements for a wealthy resort developer from Brazil to fly down to an uninhabited island in Milne Bay where he wanted to build a luxury getaway resort.

"But when he arrived in Port Moresby he took one look at Jackson's Airport terminal and said 'cancel the trip to the island, there's no way I can bring my guests through this grubby looking airport with people spitting red stuff everywhere'.

"And he turned around and left on the next flight out.

"I wasn't worried because I don't think luxury resorts offer much for Papua New Guineans anyway ... most of the money just goes into some millionaire's pocket and the only benefits for local people are those few who get jobs in the resort which are mostly low-paid jobs anyway."

If the Papua New Guinea tourism industry is smart it will not try to compete in the mass tourism market but will focus on offering "niche" (specialised) tourism products that appeal to travellers with specific interests, including scuba diving, surfing, fishing and even unusual interests like volcano climbing and collecting beetles.

Travellers with special interests tend to stay longer and spend more.

"For example, my tour company Ecotourism Melanesia gets a steady stream of cultural tourists interested in 'primitive' cultures," Hayes says.

"Many of them live in Europe and North America, they are often very wealthy and they spend two or three months every year travelling the world visiting different cultures.

"They read National Geographic magazine and International Travel News and they subscribe to websites like www.responsibletravel.com .

"They have visited many countries already and are looking for somewhere new and different to experience so they come to PNG.

"These visitors often stay three to four weeks in the country and visit four or five different destinations and do outdoor activities like hiking from village to village to meet the people and really experience the country.

"They often spend K10,000 to K15,000 per head on the ground while in the country and a lot of this money goes straight into the pockets of local people that my company pays to provide guest house accommodation, village tours, village singsing entertainment, dinghy and road transport, access to special sites and trekking guide services.