2011 Visitor Arrivals Report

7/29/2019 2011 Visitor Arrivals Report

1/21

2011

Prepared by:

Marketing Promotions & Research Division

Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority

P. O. Box 1291

Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea

Phone : 320 0211 Email :[email protected]

Fax : 320 0223 Website :www.papuanewguinea.travel


2/21

This is the fina l to ta l visitor arriva ls report fo r PNG in 2011.

The rep ort p resents the trends and market a na lysis of a ll short-term internat iona l

visitors into PNG, strongly emphasizing on holiday visitors. It is reported by source

market and purpose of v isit to the c ountry. The rep ort a lso p resents summary tab les

and graphical analysis of annual and monthly trends to observe historical

performance of tourism in the year compared to the previous years. Additional

marketing briefs are also included based on recent research to compliment thevisitor arrivals trend from the key source m arkets.

1.1 Executive Summary

Papua New Guinea recorded more than 164,000 international visitors in 2011, an

increase of more than 14% or additional 20,000 arrivals compared to 2010, with

visitors injec ting a n estima ted K1.6 billion into the na tiona l ec onom y.

Out of the tota l visitors to the country, Holiday rep resented 21%,Business 44%, VFR

4%, Employment 28%, MICE, Educationand Othera t 1% each. Holiday arrivals to

the country performed well by recording an increase of 9% in 2011, compared tothe holiday arrivals rec orded in 2010. The hea lthy grow th in the holida y arriva ls

marked the seventh year to see growth in this sector since 2003, though there was

a slight decrease in 2009 due to the global financial crisis that affected many

destina tions a round the g lob e. The t rend p icked up aga in in 2010, show ing an 8%

increase in holiday arrivals, and continued through to 2011.

These were the results of the PNG Tourism Promotion Autho rity in partne rship with

industry players and key stakeholders responding positively by working together in

the m arkets, as we ll as ma king it cond uc ive through aw areness and m ore prod uc t

developments in the model provinces. As a result, 2011 was another successfulyear, repea ting the hea lthy trend see n in the last 6 yea rs from 2003 2008. This

hea lthy trend is expe c ted to c ont inue in 2012 as TPA in the last 5 yea rs had set out

clear long-term plans to grow the tourism industry in Papua New Guinea, and as

TPA leads to imp lement a nd achieve these ob jec tives, tourism in the next 10-20

yea rs will be a significant contributor to the ec onomy.

Percentage Distribution by Purpose of Visit 2011


3/21

Most of the visitors from Japan (51%), America (40%) and European markets (60%)

we re strong ly holiday/ leisure-oriented , while the majority of the visitors from

Australia (50%) and Asia (38%) were more on business. However, the holiday

segment of the Asian, New Zea land and Oc ea nia inc rea sed in 2011 comp ared to

2011 (refer to tab le b elow).

Holiday Arrivals by Sourc e Markets 2011/ 2010

Sourc e Market 2011 2010 Change % +/ -

Australia 17,873 16,744 1,129 6.7%

New Zea land 1175 874 301 34.4%

Oceania 754 496 258 52.0%

China 617 583 34 5.8%

Japan 1,765 2,350 -585 -24.8%

Malaysia 653 566 87 15.4%

Philippines 702 795 -93 -11.6%

Indonesia 154 168 -14 -8.3%

India 323 210 113 53.8%

Other Asia 1514 914 600 65.6%

UK 1,599 1,779 -180 -10.2%Germany 1,626 1098 528 48.1%

France 445 294 151 51.4%

Other Europe 1,174 1,205 -31 -2.5%

USA 3,452 3,220 232 7.2%

Canada 541 527 14 2.7%

Other Americ a 98 119 -21 -17.6%

Africa 368 219 149 68.0%

Others 794 474 320 67.5%

Tota l Holida y 35,627 32,635 2,992 9.2%

Annual Holiday Arrivals Trend by Source Market (2005 2011)


4/21

Holiday arrivals from most of the key source markets performed well in 2011

com pared to 2010. The hea lthy g row th in the ho liday segme nt was a result o f

carrying out more marketing activities in the markets under the new brand and

tag line A MiLLiON DiFFERENT JOURNEYS .

On the tota l holiday arriva ls, 53 percent came from the Austra lian market, follow ed

by the US Ma rket with 10 percent, while Jap an, Germany and the UK c ontributed 5

percent ea ch. Tota l Europ e a nd New Zea land ho liday visitors ma de up 4 percent

each, followed by Oceania, Canada and China with 2% each, while thecom bined Asian M arket c ontributed 8% to the holiday a rriva ls in 2011.

Holiday Arrivals Distribution by Source Market 2011

The New Zea land market has performed we ll in 2011 by ga ining the fourth position

after Austra lia , USA, Japan a nd Germa ny, as a result o f more c oo rd ina ted

marketing activities extended to other parts of New Zealands main cities by theTPA Sydne y Office under the new brand .

1.2 Key Source Market Performance

Australian Market

The Australian ma rket continued to rem ain the highest single source m arket (in all

seg me nts) for Papua New Guinea . It acc ounted for more than 46 percent (77,396)

of the total arrivals in 2011, recording a slight increase by 2% compared to 2010arriva ls.

Most of the visitors from the Australian market were on business visits (48%), while

23% ac counted for holiday.

The ho liday seg ment from the Austra lian market rec orded an increase b y 6.7

percent, while business arrivals also show an increase by 7 percent compared to

the 2010 arriva ls.


5/21

Annual trend of holiday a rriva ls from the Australian Market

As it can be seen above, strong growth in holiday arrivals from the Australian

market was from 2005 to 2008, and tha t was a result of op ening a new TPA office in

Sydney. The TPA office in Sydney w as ab le to c arry out more marketing a c tivities

targeting tourists from all around Australia. One of it being the development of a

comprehensive website for visitors to browse through and make travel decisions.

Rec ently, the TPA Boa rd appointed anothe r new ma rketing rep resenta tive and the

new team have come up with new m arketing tec hniques to g row tourist numbers

from the m arket.

Thus in 2010, the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority Off ice in Sydney ha s launc hed aTPA Austra lia face b ook & twitter pa ge to service a s a p la tform to support and

carry out marketing activities in this market and boost tourist numbers from the

market in the next 5 years.

Japan Market

Japan is Papua New Guinea's third largest holiday market after Australia and the

United Sta tes, and one of the highest spend ing markets for Papua New Guinea .

Growth in visitor numbers has greatly improved in 2010 after performing poorly in

2009. The hea lthy g row th in 2010 was a result of launc hing the a dd itiona l flight b yAir Niugini on the PNG/Japan route and the appointment of a new marketing

ma nage r for the PNG TPA Japan Office, who is com ing up with new ma rketing

initiative to g row the m arket share for Papua New Guinea . The Jap an ma rket

recorded an increase o f 17% in holida y arrivals in 2010, while the business sec to r

a lso show an inc rea se in 2010 com pared to 2009 arrivals.

In 2011, Japan rec orded a d rop in visitor numb ers by mo re than 24% com pared to

2010 arrivals. This was the result last years cha in of d isaste rs tha t t rigg ered by the

9.0 magnitude earthquake in northern Japan on March 11, 2011 that hampered

grow th of Japanese outb ound tourists sinc e Ap ril last yea r.


6/21

However, Air Niug ini s suspension to its Wed nesday services to Narita , in September

7 last yea r had a lso c ontributed to the d rop in a rriva ls from the m arket.

About 2 percent o f the tota l arriva ls we re from Japan and mo st o f the visitors from

the market w ere ho lida yma kers (60%), while only few (30%) came fo r business and

10% for other reasons. Most of the increase from the Japan market was attributed

by a ir a rriva ls which a ccounted for 90% of the tota l arriva ls from the ma rket.

Referring to the graph, an upward trend developed in 2005 for the Japanesetourists visiting Papua New Guinea. However, in 2006 and 2007 PNG lost its market

sha re b y 26% and 25% respec tively. The reason for the drop in tourists from the

Japanese m arket in those years wa s due to a d rop in outbo und travel in 2006 and

2007, which a ffec ted mo st o f the long -haul destinations (inc lud ing Austra lia & New

Zea land and the Pac ific Island countries). There ha d been a shift in offshore travel

to Asia in those years, away from traditional longer-haul destinations. Papua New

Guinea recording the drop in 2006 and 2007 was also contributed by the drop in

cruise ship arrivals from the Japan market, together with some PX cancellations

from the m arket.

An upwa rd trend from the Jap an ma rket was experienc ed in 2008 and 2010, whichwas a sign of the efforts put in by the new marketing representative appointed by

the PNG Tourism Prom ot ion Authority Boa rd . The new marketing strate gies put

together for the market will start to boost tourist numbers in 2012 after recovering

from the da ma ge c aused by the ea rth quake last year.

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the Japa nese Market

North American Ma rket

The North Am erican market c ollec tively generated about 8% (11,727) of the

aggreg ate a rrivals in 2011, reflec ting an inc rease b y 20% from 8,704 arrivals in 2010.


7/21

Between 2003 and 2009, tota l a rrivals from the US increa sed by around 88 percent ,

and in 2009 arrivals from the market declined by 14 per cent, with arrivals being

slightly impac ted by the financ ial c risis in the United Sta tes. In 2010 a rrivals p icked

up well and recorded an increase of 26 percent after a slow growth in the first

quarter. With the positive sign, Papua New Guinea remains wellpositioned for

grow th with go od a ir ac cess and a favo urab le exc hange ra te. The TPA Los

Ange les Office ha s be en w orking ha rd to p rom ote Pap ua New Guinea under the

new brand A MILLION DIFFERENT JURNEYS in the North American Market.

Visitors from the US ra te PNGs environment and the ac tivities we have on o ffer

more highly than other markets, showing that PNGs offering as a destination fits

well with Americans from our target market. In particular PNG has very strong

appeal as a niche destination among North American travellers interested in the

outd oo rs, adventure and culture. Desp ite be ing our sec ond la rgest holiday ma rket,

New Papua New Guinea continues to attract only a tiny proportion of US

outb ound travellers and awa reness rem a ins low . In Ca nada , interest in Papua New

Guinea was strong, but has slightly dropped back in the aftermath of the global

ec onomic downturn.

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the America n Market

As it can be c learly seen, the trend in holiday tourists from the US ma rket p icked upwell since 2003, but dropped in 2007 and 2009 due to the down turn in the US

ec onom y. The US ec onom y has fa llen into a deep rec ession in 2008, and the entire

wo rld tourism ma rket ha s suffered . How ever, Papua New Guinea has bene fited in

2008, recording a strong growth due to the stable PNG Kina and the strong

marketing efforts put in by TPA in this market to resist any unforesee n threats in the

future. Below is a simila r holida y arrivals trend from the Ca nadian m arket.


8/21

Europe

Europe is a valuable holiday market for Papua New Guinea with long staying

visitors who like to eng age in multip le ac tivities. The Europ e market c om prise o f the

United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands and other smaller contributing

European countries. As PNG's fourth largest holiday markets, the United Kingdom

and Germa ny are the key foc us of Papua New G uinea Tourism Prom otion

Authoritys international marketing, trade and public relations activity. However,

the smaller European markets have shown their resilience over the past months,

despite the global economic downturn, and many present good growth

opportunities for the Papua New Guinea Tourism Industry. In 2010, visitor arrivals

from Europ e show an increase of 20 percent, w ith ho liday a rriva ls posting a growthof 15 percent. The UK and Germa ny we re the m a jor contribut ing ma rkets.

The c ollec tive Europ ea n markets accounte d for 7% percent (10,238) of the tota l

arrivals. United Kingd om rep resented 49 percent (5,102) of a rrivals from the market,

Germany generated 15 percent (1,580) and France accounted for 8 percent

(830), while the othe r Europ ea n markets contributed 28 percent to the tota l Europ e

arrivals. Even though there was a drop of 24 percent in the European markets in

2005 compared to 2004, it picked up exceptionally well in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In

2008, the healthy growth continued with UK, Germany and France recording an

increase by15%, 54% and 7% respectively. In 2009, visitor arrivals from the markets

d rop ped due to the g lob a l financ ia l c risis and p icked up w ell in 2010.

Holiday a rriva ls from UK and Germa ny rem ain strong and the Papua New Guinea

Tourism Prom ot ion Authority Frankfurt Office continues to run the new marketing

campaign with the tagline A MILLION DIFFERENT JURNEYS and working closely

with travel sellers in this market, to ensure British & Germans keep Papua New

Guinea on their wishlists. The new b rand c amp a ign ha s a lso b een extended to

other pa rts of Europe inc luding Franc e, the Netherland s and Switzerland , where

growth o ppo rtunities have been identified .


9/21

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the European Market

It c an be c lea rly seen from the trend tha t the ma rkets performed we ll in 2004, 2006,

2007 and 2008, while a drop on bona fide tourists was experienced in 2005 and

2009 as a result of the grow ing terrorism threa ts amongst the Europea n c ountries in

2005 and globa l financ ial c risis experienc ed in 2009.

In 2006, 2007 and 2010, situations have slowed and European tourists re-gained

confidenc e a nd wa nted to trave l to long-haul de stinations. Most of the b ona -fide

tourists trave ling to PNG w ere m ot ivated by the PNG Tourism Prom ot ion Authoritys

effec tive m arketing and prom otions of to urism prod uc ts in the reg ion. The no tab le

one w as the inviting o f mo re t ravel writers and film c rew s from Europ e b oth by TPA

and industry partners to channel the tourism p rod uc ts to ta rge ted consumers in the

region and participating in travel/trade shows to generate demand amongst

wholesalers/retailers from Europe. In 2010, the European market performed to

expectation.

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the Chinese Market

In the Asian region, China is a potential market for Papua New Guinea andrepresents 5% of the to ta l arriva ls. There was a drop in holiday visitors from the

collec tive Asian ma rket in 2009, but the Chinese m arket continued to m ainta in the

upwa rd trend tha t wa s deve lop ed since 2005. As it can be seen from the trend

below, the steady growth which started in 2005 is expected to continue in the

future due to the signing o f the Ap proved Destinat ion Sta tus (ADS) be tween PNG

and China , and a lso PNG TPA s future p lan to develop marketing strate gies in the

Chinese market and carry out marketing activities in Chinese language will boost

tourist a rriva ls from the market.


10/21

Other Asian Markets

The o ther Asian markets collec tively rep resented 16 percent o f the to ta l a rrivals

(23,677), with an inc rea se o f 22 percent c om pared to the tota l a rrivals in 2009.

A higher number of the visitors were age between 30-39 and 40-49 years. Most of

the visitors from the Asian markets visited for business and employment reasons.

How ever China and othe r Asian m arkets rec orded an increase in ho liday a rriva ls in

2010 c om pared to 2009. The inc rea se in holida y figures from China or Africa could

not be rea l as mo st o f those com ing for business or em ployment might reg ister as

holiday visitors to avoid cost on visa, but the fact that we must accept is that

China is PNGs potential market in the Asian region after signing the ApprovedDestinat ion Sta tus (ADS) betwe en the two c ountries. Therefo re, future marketing

activities in the Chinese market and other Asian markets will boost holiday tourists

from the Asian region.

After dropping back in 2009, outbound travel has started to rebound, and more

Asians are travelling overseas for holidays than ever before, with 2010 showing

increase in outbound travel. Contributing factors are renewed confidence after

last year's Influenza A (H1N1) Swine Flu impac t a nd financ ial c risis, mo re flights in

and out o f Asia , and grow th in travel to China a round the Shanghai World Expo.

This positive o utb ound trend wa s reflec ted in visitor arrivals to Papua New Guinea ,

which grew by 16 per cent in 2010.

Asian tourists are often seen a just one category - package tourist, but there are

other categories. By recognising these categories and catering for them better,

Papua New Guinea has a great opportunity to take advantage of growth in the

number of Asian including Japanese holidaying overseas. In the past most of the

Japanese/ Asian tourists preferred package tours. Tod ay how ever, ma ny

Japanese/Asian have already experienced overseas travel, so their desires are

changing. As a result, travel age nc ies in Japan a re p roviding va rious kinds of new


11/21

services to attract customers, where PNG tourism operators can take advantage

ma inta ining a c lose rela tion w ith the Jap an travel ag enc ies and who lesa lers.

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the Asian Market

As seen from the trend above, a significant growth was experienced from the

Asian markets since 2003; however, in 2008 there was a drop of 14% due to the

g lob a l ec onomic c risis, which affec ted mo st of the eme rg ing Asian and the Pac ific

Island c ountries. The e conom ic c risis has posed unc erta inties in the exc hange ratein destinations around the globe causing fear amongst potential travelers as they

be com e c onc ern ove r the p urchasing po wer of their currenc y in other countries.

As a result of the global economic crisis, most countries around the world have lost

the ir tourism market share w hile others includ ing Papua New Guinea survived . The

steady growth in tourist numbers from the major source markets was due to the

stable economic condition in PNG combined with a strong marketing and

prom ot iona l efforts put in by the PNG Tourism Prom ot ion Authority in the key sourc e

markets. For PNG, only the collective Asia and the Oceania recorded a decrease

in holiday visitors in 2008, which slowly picked up in 2010 and expect to pick upstrong ly in 2011 and beyond .

Oceania

Arrivals from Oceania in 2010 indicated an increase of 3.8 percent compared to

the total arrivals in 2009. Most of the visitors from this market came for business

reasons (35%), while 17 percent visited for holiday. However, the holiday segment

dec rea sed by 21% for this market.


12/21

New Zealand

New Zealand contributed about 4.5 percent (7,000) of the total arrivals in 2010,

which was an increase of 25% compared to 2008. Both the holiday and business

segments recorded increase with the holiday showing a significant increase by

1.3% com pared to the 2009 holida y arrivals. Refe r to graphs below .

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the Oc eania Market

Annual trend of bona fide tourists from the New Zea land Market


13/21

The ho liday ma rket from New Zea land p icked up slow ly in 2004 and 2005, and in

2006 and 2007, the upward trend continued on a higher note, recording an

increase of 34%, while in 2008 the performance continued the upward trend,

which show an increa se of 12% c om pared to the 2007 holiday a rriva ls.

The inc rea se w as a result of opening the new TPA office in Sydney a nd the new

web-site development, where a lot of quality promotion was done (through this

office ) to a ttrac t m ore Austra lian a nd New Zea land tourists.

1.3 Area s visited by internationa l visitors in PNG

Main Area 2011 2010 Chang e % +/ -

Western Prov 2,896 2,989 -93 -3.1

Gulf Prov 552 569 -17 -2.9

Ce ntral Prov 1,087 766 321 41.9

NCD (POM ) 91,044 83,838 7,206 8.6

Milne Bay Prov 4,253 2,139 2,114 98.8

Oro Prov 898 852 46 5.4

SHP Mend i 11,263 5,382 5,881 109.3

Enga Prov 3,818 3,441 377 10.9

WHP Mt. Hag en 3,670 3,279 391 11.9

Simb u Prov 148 145 3 2

EHP Goroka 4,144 3,685 459 12.4

Morob e Prov 13,515 13,053 462 3.5

Mad ang Prov 6,957 6,839 118 1.7

ESP Wewak 1,659 1,542 117 7.6

WSP Vanimo 532 555 -23 -4.1

Ma nus Prov 144 135 9 6.6

NIP Kavieng 6,520 5,679 841 14.8

ENBP Rabaul 6,871 6,446 425 6.5

WNBP Kimbe 2,805 2,586 219 8.5

NSP Buka 743 651 92 14.1

The high visita tion to the Southe rn Highlands, Morobe and NCD are a ttributed to

the increased business and mining activities in the areas, while most of those

visiting Milne Bay, ENBP, Madang, New Ireland and WNBP are mainly genuinetourists going to pa rt-take in tourism ac tivities in these p rovinces.

In 2011, Rabaul, Kavieng, Madang and Alotau received the highest number of

tourists, followed by Eastern Highlands, West New Britain, Western Highlands and

the East Sep ik Provinc es. Most o f the tourists tha t visited the coasta l a reas were

cruise ship visitors, which made up more than 60 percent of the total visitation for

the coastal provinces. From data collected last year, about 14 cruise ships visited

Papua New Guinea and contributed about 3 percent or 4,500 visitors to the total

arrivals in 2011. More than 98 percent of the cruise ship visitors were purely holiday

ma kers while the rem a inder 2 pe rcent came for business and othe r rea sons.


14/21

1.4 Tourism Receipts (Estimate)

Ac c ording to the information from our Visitor Exit Survey:

Tota l visitor expend iture in 2011 wa s estima ted to be K1.6 billion, which was an

increase of 14% compared to the estimated K1.4 billion spent by visitors in 2010.

Out of the total, it was estimated that genuine tourists had spent a total of K450

million, an increase of 3.5% or K15 million additional spending into the PNG

economy compared to the K435 million spent by ho liday-ma kers in 2010. The

increase in expenditure by holiday makers was a direct result of the 13% increase

in the ho lida y arrivals in 2011 co mpared to 2010.

Total Tourist Expenditure by Market Area (in 2011)

CountryAveragelength of

Stay

TouristArrivals

DailyExpdt.

Average /HeadExpenditure Total Expenditure %tage

ShareKina US$ Kina ('000 US$)

Australia 13 16,873 872 11,336 4,052.62 191,272,328 57,381,698 43.0

New Zealand 14 1175 1,107 15,498 5,540.54 18,210,150 5,463,045 4.1

Pacific Islands 28 754 190 5,320 1,901.90 4,011,280 1,203,384 0.9

Japan 11 1,665 1,500 16,500 5,898.75 27,472,500 8,241,750 6.2

China 14 617 857 12,000 4,290.00 7,402,766 2,220,830 1.7

Philippines 14 702 913 12,786 4,571.00 8,972,964 2,691,889 2.0

Other Asia 14 2460 712 9,968 3,563.56 24,521,280 7,356,384 5.5

United Kingdom 21 1499 775 15,500 5,541.25 24,396,225 7,318,868 5.5

Germany 20 1626 986 19,722 7,050.62 32,064,720 9,619,416 7.2France 16 300 1,281 20,500 7,328.75 6,148,800 1,844,640 1.4Other Europe 14 944 1,357 19,008 6,795.36 17,934,112 5,380,234 4.0USA 16 3,452 1,088 17,410 6,224.08 60,092,416 18,027,725 13.5

Canada 25 541 466 11,667 4,170.95 6,302,650 1,890,795 1.4

Africa 12 168 833 10,000 3,575.00 1,679,328 503,798 0.4

Other Countries 19 690 1,078 20,500 7,328.75 14,132,580 4,239,774 3.2

Total Average 16.3 32,216 947.81 15,449 4,634.70 444,614,099 134,536,227 100


15/21

Summary of Short-Term Visitor Arriva ls in the last six years (2005-2011]

In the last 6 years, Papua New Guinea s tourism industry has performed very well, in

terms of international tourist arrivals. In 2005, a total of 69,251 short-term

international visitors was recorded, which was an increase of 17.3% compared to

the other year. In 2006, the arrivals figure maintained its upward trend by recording

77,730 internat iona l visitors, an inc rease o f 12.2% c ompared to the 2005 arrivals,

and the hea lthy trend continued through to 2009.

The yea r 2010 was even b ette r for tourism grow th in Papua New Guinea , rec ording

more than 140,000 arrivals, an excess of more than 22,000 new arrivals or 18%

inc rease c om pa red to the sam e p eriod of the previous year.

In 2011, the arrivals figure continued its healthy upward trend by recording more

than 165,000 short-term international visitors, an increase of 14% or more than

20,000 extra a rrivals compared to the 2010 a rrivals. Tota l internat iona l a rriva ls to

Papua New Guinea in 2009 was recorded at 125,891, which was a slight increase

of 4.8 percent c om pa red to 2008 due to the fac t that wo rld tourism w as affec ted

by the g loba l financ ial c risis. In 2010, short-te rm visitor arrivals to Pap ua New

Guinea increased by 18%, recording more than 140,000 international visitors toPapua New Guinea, and the trend continued through to 2011.

Summary of Interna tiona l Visitor Expenditure in the Last six Yea rs

In the last six years, tourisms contribution to the economy of Papua New Guinea

was significant. In 2005, an estima ted K494 million wa s spent in Papua New Guinea

by foreign visitors, recording an increase of 21.8% compared to the other year. In

2006, tourism expenditure by international visitors was estimated at K560 million, an

inc rea se o f 15.2% com pared to the p revious yea r. The up wa rd trend continued

and in 2007, an estimated K880 million was injected into the economy of Papua

New Guinea by international visitors, show ing a n increase of 57% com pared to the

expenditure incurred by the short-term visitors in 2006.


16/21

In 2008, a total of K960 million was spent by international visitors in Papua New

Guinea, recording an increase of 27% or an extra K80 million compared to the

amount spent in the p revious yea r. Tota l tourism expend iture in 2009 wa s estima ted

to be K1.2 billion, which wa s an increase of 30% compared to the amount spent

by visitors in 2008. In 2010, an estimated K1.4 billion wa s injec ted into the econom y

of Papua New G uinea by the trave l and tourism industry.

Out of the total estimated expenditure, bona fide tourists spent the most during

their holidays in Papua New Guinea. In 2007, a total of K300 million was spent bybona fide tourists a lone in Papua New G uinea. The tota l expend iture incurred by

bona fide tourists in 2008 was K380 million, which was an increase of 27%

com pa red to 2008 bona fide tourism expend iture.

In 2009, expenditure made by bona fide tourists while in PNG was K360 million,

which was less by K20 million compared to bona fide tourists spent in the previous

yea r. The d ec rea se in expend iture b y holiday ma kers was a d irec t result of the 12%

drop in our holiday a rrivals in 2009 as a result of the g loba l financ ial c risis and other

international and domestic factors like the presence of swine flu threat amongst

our key source m arkets inc lud ing Jap an, USA a nd Europe. PNG was a lso a ffec ted

by the plane crash in Kokoda which saw trekking numbers decrease dramaticallyby more than 30 percent in 2009. However, the trend in 2010 and 2011 improved

and bona fide tourists spent an estima ted K440 and K450 million respec tively in the

country. The trend is expec ted to c ontinue, and Pap ua New Guinea can be nefit

from the tourism industry in the future, if prop erly supported and ma naged .


17/21

1.5 Arrival Trends & Forec asts

Monthly Visitor Arrivals Trend (2005 2011)

2011 Visitor Arrivals Summary Table


18/21

Annual Total Visitor Arrivals Trend (1995 2011)

Quarterly Visitor Arrivals Trend (2003 2011)


19/21

Annual Visitor Arrivals Trend by Purpose of Visit (2002 2011)

Annual Visitor Arrival Forecasts in the next five years (2011 2015)

The trends in the last six yea rs have been positive, and the holida y seg ment from

mo st o f our key source ma rkets have b een performing we ll. Most o f the growths in

visitor arrivals were within our target and that is to double the holiday figures every

five yea rs. How ever, the year 2009 d id not p erform w ell due to the g lob a l financ ia l

crisis as most potential and experienced travelers around the globe were cutting

back on travel budgets and if they have to travel, they traveled within short

distances or closer to home. We felt the effect in the last quarter of 2008 and

continued throug h to 2009.


20/21

The t rend is c lear from our 2009 holida y arrivals figure, where w e ha ve rec orded a

negative growth of 12 percent. Most destinations around the Globe also

experienced the d ow nwa rd trend in 2009, and acc ording to the World Tourism

Organization, globa l tourism d rop ped by 4% in 2009. In fac t, our economy wa s we ll

protec ted from the g lob al econom ic c risis, but because of the fac t that travel and

tourism relates directly to people's household income, meaning that people travel

when they have the money so because of the financial crisis, living standards in

their country became expensive, most people lost their jobs and they have to cut

dow n on luxury expenses like (travel) to mee t the nec essities of everyday life.

How ever, Papua New Guinea s tourism numbers p icked up we ll in 2010 as TPA in

partnership with the industry players were able to carry out planned tourism

deve lop me nt, and ma rketing and prom otiona l efforts in the ove rsea s ma rkets. The

tourism outlook for PNG is promising over the next five years, largely due to the

expected strong economic growth in PNG and its major tourism source markets,

the TPA s marketing a nd prom ot ion initia tives in the m ajor markets, the prop er

recognition of the tourism sector by the PNG Government and the additional

number of Air Niug ini flights on the Japan and other internat iona l routes. The stab le

politica l environment of PNG w ill a lso sec ure d estinat ion fo r tourists.

In the next five years (2011-2015), inte rnat iona l visitor arrivals will continue to grow

at a n average rate o f 7% annua lly and by 2015 more tha n 250,000 visitors will have

visited Papua New Guinea , spend ing an estimated revenue o f som e K3 billion into

the economy. The g row th will be supported strong ly by the imp lem enta tion of the

TPA p lans (includ ing the master plan) and Air Niug ini's p lan to expa nd its flight

services to other international and domestic destinations. Increased marketing

ac tivities by TPA a nd the deve lop me nt o f new tourism prod uc ts by the tourism

industry players will also determine our predicted growth in visitor numbers into

Papua New Guinea .

Please note that unforeseen events like natural disasters, political or economic

crisis, non-implementation of plans, budget cuts and new development in the

tourism industry during the forecast period are not taken into consideration in our

forecast model and the forecast will be updated annually by monitoring these

events through research.

1.5 Conclusion

Holiday Arrivals in the past years (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, & 2007) have beengrow ing and the inc rea se of 25% in 2008 ma rked the sixth c onsec utive growth, and

continued to p erform well in 2010. The PNG Kina c ontinues to be stab le de sp ite the

g lob a l financ ial crisis and mo re tourists dec ided to stay long er and spend more in

PNG, thus contributing significantly to the nationa l economy.

The trends in the last six yea rs have been positive, and the holida y seg ment from

mo st o f our key source ma rkets have b een performing we ll. Most o f the growths in

visitor arrivals were within our target and that is to double the holiday figures every

five yea rs. How ever, the year 2009 d id not p erform w ell due to the g lob a l financ ia l

c risis, but p icked up in 2010 and 2011 respec tively.


21/21

The t rend is c lear from our 2009 holida y arrivals figure, where w e ha ve rec orded a

negative growth of 12 percent. Most destinations around the Globe also

experienced the d ow nwa rd trend in 2009, and acc ording to the World Tourism

Organization, globa l tourism d rop ped by 4% in 2009. In fac t, our economy wa s we ll

protec ted from the g lob al econom ic c risis, but because of the fac t that travel and

tourism relates directly to people's household income, meaning that people travel

when they have the money so because of the financial crisis, living standards in

their country became expensive, most people lost their jobs and they have to cut

dow n on luxury expenses like (travel) to mee t the nec essities of everyday life.

How ever, Papua New Guinea s tourism numbers p icked up we ll in 2010 as TPA in

partnership with the industry players were able to carry out planned tourism

deve lop me nt, and ma rketing and prom otiona l efforts in the ove rsea s ma rkets. The

tourism outlook for PNG is promising over the next five years, largely due to the

expected strong economic growth in PNG and its major tourism source markets,

the TPA s marketing a nd prom ot ion initia tives in the m ajor markets, the prop er

recognition of the tourism sector by the PNG Government and the additional

number of Air Niug ini flights on the Japan and other internat iona l routes. The stab le

politica l environment of PNG w ill a lso sec ure d estinat ion fo r tourists.

In the next five years (2012-2016), inte rnat iona l visitor arrivals will continue to grow

at a n average rate o f 7% annua lly and by 2015 more tha n 250,000 visitors will have

visited Papua New Guinea , spend ing an estimated revenue o f som e K3 billion into

the economy. The g row th will be supported strong ly by the imp lem enta tion of the

TPA p lans (includ ing the master plan) and Air Niug ini's p lan to expa nd its flight

services to other international and domestic destinations. Increased marketing

ac tivities by TPA a nd the deve lop me nt o f new tourism prod uc ts by the tourism

industry players will also determine our predicted growth in visitor numbers into

Papua New Guinea .

Please note that unforeseen events like natural disasters, political or economic

crisis, non-implementation of plans, budget cuts and new development in the

tourism industry during the forecast period are not taken into consideration in our

forecast model and the forecast will be updated annually by monitoring these

events through research.

2011 Visitor Arrivals Report

Documents

Transcript of 2011 Visitor Arrivals Report