{"id":869,"date":"2011-08-04T09:02:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-04T09:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/?p=869"},"modified":"2011-08-04T09:02:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-04T09:02:00","slug":"niue-on-track-for-south-pacific-tourism-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/2011\/08\/niue-on-track-for-south-pacific-tourism-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Niue on track for South Pacific tourism success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tourism manager, Hayden Porter, personally thanks each
departing visitor with a ‘come again’ card on departure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

BY RODERICK EIME IN NIUE<\/p>\n

In December 2010, HM magazine ran a feature on the development of the tiny island nation of Niue, unknown to most members of the travelling public and in response, HM ventured to Niue to see for himself the progress of tourism development and to meet Hayden Porter, the man tasked with expanding the \u201cRock of Polynesia\u201d.<\/p>\n

With just 1500 permanent residents on the 269 sq km island, tourism on Niue is always going to be a niche product with focus on sustainability and responsible tourism practices. Currently just 6000 visitors arrive in Niue annually, attracted primarily by the superb scuba diving, fishing and whale watching. The plan is to treble that figure.<\/p>\n

There have been several offers from international investors wishing build new hotels, but these have been rejected based on the sustainability of these projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had one offer to fund and build a 40-room hotel,\u201d said Porter, \u201cbut without the resources to operate and maintain the property, it would quickly deteriorate and become an eyesore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of a new build, the current premier accommodation offering, the Matavei Resort, is being redeveloped and expanded with the addition of a further 20 rooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe location of the Matavei is ideal,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s sheltered, but with magnificent views across the bay and it overlooks one of the popular whale and dolphin sites.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the short to medium term, the Niue Government will relinquish their 50% stake in the Matavei and allow a private New Zealand trust to oversee the expansion and refurbishment of the 15-year-old property. <\/p>\n

The plan, according to Porter, is to build the property into a solid profit position and then return the Niue Government stake. With traditionally high occupancy rates, that is goal is achievable.<\/p>\n

New General Manager, Adrian Walters, has just arrived from New Zealand and will begin immediately. Walters was most recently from Copthorne Hotel New Plymouth and the Wananavu Beach Resort, Fiji, prior to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my plan to be here for five years,\u201d says Walters, \u201cthen see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for branding, Porter says, \u201cwith just 44-rooms, it will need a sympathetic agreement with a franchisor to make it work. Alternatively the Matavei will remain independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apart from private and NZ aid, the UN have also assisted with funding small tourism projects, especially for the rebuilding required after the devastation of Cyclone Heta in January 2004. But these offers must also be examined carefully, says Porter.<\/p>\n

\u201cA recent one for NZD$1 million could have created a liability of $200k shortfall in running costs per annum,\u201d he said. \u201cThese projects are hugely important and all help is appreciated but they need to be looked at in a long term and sensible manner to avoid what could turn a good deed into a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since going to press last December, HM can report that an accommodation booking engine has been launched with technology partner, www.seekom.com<\/a>, of Wellington NZ; the first ATM is en route by ship and the plan for a mobile phone network is progressing with visiting New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully receiving the Niue phone network\u2019s first call from Niue Premier Toke Talagi in Alofi last week (22 July).<\/p>\n

Currently the supply by air is limited to a single Air New Zealand A320 per week, many of which are taken up by residents either visiting or returning from New Zealand. A 20 per cent capacity increase was gained over the 737 used previously and Porter hopes a second flight is not too far away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe possibility of flying via Tonga exists thereby allowing Australian visitors a single day\u2019s journey. Currently Australian guests must overnight in Auckland before catching our early Friday flight and it does present a minor barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

HM will monitor Niue\u2019s progress and report on the development of the Pacific\u2019s newest eco-tourism hotspot. In the meantime, visit www.niueisland.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tourism manager, Hayden Porter, personally thanks eachdeparting visitor with a ‘come again’ card on departure BY RODERICK EIME IN NIUE In December 2010, HM magazine ran a feature on the development of the tiny island nation of Niue, unknown to most members of the travelling public and in response, HM ventured to Niue to see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}