The 49th Tourism Working Group meeting commenced today in Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Delegates from APEC member economies arrived in the Kokopo since Sunday.
The TWG’s objective is to foster economic development in the Asia-Pacific region through sustainable tourism. In doing so, the TWG recognises that tourism is one the region’s fastest growing industries and therefore is of significant importance to the economic development of APEC economies.
The Tourism Minister, Tobias Kulang, officiated at the gathering today said Papua New Guinea, particularly East New Britain, is privileged to have this international meeting held in the province for the first time, since PNG first joined the APEC in 1993.
The meeting will focus on discussing issues about how to improve and support tourism industry in the APEC member countries. Sustainable tourism is a key economic driver for the Asia-Pacific region, creating jobs and promoting investment and development.
The discussions of the meeting will be formulated into working plans for the PNG Tourism Authority to use.
The meeting also comes at a time as the National Government plans to transform East New Britain province into a tourism hotspot for the country.
The event will continue over the next two days, as one of many international meetings, leading up to the 2018 APEC Summit in Port Moresby.
