Handicraft sellers call for more cruise passenger promotion

August 11, 2025 10:16 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Doddy Morris.

Handicraft sellers at the Feiawa Park in Port Vila are calling for stronger promotion of local products to cruise ship passengers after reporting low sales during recent tourist arrivals.

The earthquake on 17 December 2024 triggered a landslide that blocked the usual cruise terminal. Since then, cruise ships have anchored in Port Vila Harbour, with small boats ferrying passengers ashore directly to the Seafront, near the handicraft market.

Vendors say that before the earthquake, cruise passengers regularly bought from them. However, during the first cruise arrival on August 8 and again yesterday, August 11, many passengers only walked around and did not make purchases.

“With the tourists disembarking here at the Seafront, it’s okay — but they should have done more advertising. The advertisement must be good so tourists will see, know, and shop with us,” one vendor said.

They also noted a difference in spending habits between visitors who arrive by air and those from cruise ships.

“We saw that the tourists who came by plane are much better than those who came with the ship. Cruise ship passengers tell us they cannot take local products back to Australia or New Zealand — that’s the main problem,” the vendor said.

The sellers want the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO) and industry operators to improve advertising so more cruise passengers are aware of the products available.

“We are the ones promoting local products in Vanuatu. Those working in the industry and VTO should do better on advertising,” the vendor said.

Many bus drivers and local product sellers were not happy after the two recent cruise visits, reporting that cruise passengers visited only a few stalls and made few purchases.

The Daily Post asked a bus driver yesterday if he had been waiting for tourists at Feiawa Park. He replied no, explaining that tourists were dropped off in midtown, so they did not need a bus.

“At the main wharf, tourists need buses, so we can earn $5. However, now that it is still closed due to the landslide, we have to accept this. Those who have tours are lucky, but for some of us, we have to continue with our normal services,” the bus driver told the Daily Post newspaper.