Pacific Games 2023 win a key driver for major tourism development

Honiara, Solomon Islands – Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto has congratulated Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and his government’s achievement in successfully securing the Solomon Islands bid to host the 2023 Pacific Games.

Describing the win as “the biggest ever windfall” for the destination’s tourism aspirations, Mr Tuamoto said the potential the Games offered from the perspective of new infrastructure, roads, sporting facilities and particularly tourism investment was massive.

“We are hopeful this major event will act as a catalyst beyond the sporting and business opportunity especially for new hotel development and related tourism infrastructure projects in and around Honiara,” Mr Tuamoto said.

This, he said, included international hotel brands, none of which currently have a presence in the destination.

“We look at the construction of extra room inventory from a two-fold perspective,” Mr Tuamoto

“Given these new properties will be up and running long before the Games actually take place, in the process providing much needed inventory for our capital city, we also see these extra rooms as a catalyst for the development of our fledgling  MICE industry.

The SIVB has long identified the MICE industry as playing a major role in our tourism becoming the country’s key source of foreign exchange earnings.

Mr Tuamoto said the Pacific Games would now play a major role in the national tourism office’s international marketing of the destination leading up to, during and post the event.

“While we are still all glowing from this fantastic achievement, none the less the time to act and start work on how we are going to achieve maximum return from this key event is now,” he said.

“We have just over six years to get it all together and it is amazing how quickly the time will fly.”