Department assessing earthquake impact on tourism

January 8, 2025 9:49 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

Adorina Massing.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has assured that it is conducting a two-week detailed assessment to determine the number of people in the tourism sector affected by the earthquake and provide assistance.

Director Paul Pio explained that the assessment will identify those affected, including through their employment, and will quantify how many businesses are impacted and the extent of the damage.

He said after the earthquake, they have initiated a rapid assessment of tourism businesses in Efate and the Port Vila Central Business District (CBD), and have estimated that over 70% of all tourism businesses are operational.

This gives positive note, indicating that business continuity must still happen, as many businesses were recorded as not being severely affected and are able to continue operating, he said.

“We are happy to see that many businesses in CBD have been able to relocate to other places, banks, retail shops and other services. And for those business that cannot relocate easily since they rely on their building sites to operate, we will assist them as best as we could in a safely manner,” said the director.

“We cannot rush to open back CBD. We must wait until proper assessments are done, we must also understand there are different layers of assessments. we can’t just rely on one assessment; we need assessments from different parties to ensure the decision that the government makes at the end of the days is for the safety of the people.”

Director Pio said that once the assessments are complete, they will work with the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and various tourism associations to determine the best ways to support those affected.

 “There are some initiatives which the recovery committee has been discussing under the Recovery Operation Center, including stimulus package, support programs provided to the business community and this will be done after the assessments are completed,” he said.

“The assessments will need to be provided to the leading committee which will give recommendations on the best approaches and angles that we can cover to provide an effective support program back to our business community.”

Pio assured that the DoT remains intact at the Ministry of Trade and Commerce and is fully operational.

“We are on reduced effective staff numbers, only because we are trying to address personal issues and the fact that they need to stay with their families during this depressing time.

“However, our office remains operational; people can come by to renew their tourism permits or apply for duty exemptions.

“We would like to thank the Public Service Commission for taking these steps to address personal matters for public servants,” he added.