According to the Tourism department, "Espiritu Santo is the second destination island after Efate with an estimation of 10, 000 to 12, 000 international visitors a year. This represents 13% of visitors coming to Vanuatu."
Having such reliable data, it would depict how the tourism industry would benefit from such a demand created by increasing number of tourist every year at least. The above mention example, characterize how such data can be presented as an incentive for support by development partners.
Access to such information or data also can present a road-map to which policies can complement across the productive sectors, especially the agro-tourism industry. This example of influx of visitors tabulates, for instance, a trend or demand across the Hotels & Resorts industry. Market intelligence reports, whether it is quarterly or annually, provides an insight which allows hotels & resorts to draw out menu schedules, customers preferences and farmers and traders to plan accordingly to cater for the demand by supplying vegetables, preferred root crops and fruits. Indirectly, the demand creates for farmers in the beef industry an incentive to improve their breeding and stocking programs to supply butchers who are then in-demand to supply the markets.
As it is with markets there are unpredictable trends, the Tourism department has seen the importance of keeping updated with the changes and providing information to visitors and stakeholders that are in some ways involved in the tourism industry, has set up the Sanma Information Centre (SIC) with assistance of the New Zealand government to address the "gap." The centre was open earlier this year where dignitaries from both the government and the private sector who witness the opening of this institution, which was deemed to enhance the experience visitors have when coming to Santo and give much exposure to local tour operators and other tourism entrepreneurs in the industry.
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| The Sanma Information Centre situated right at the heart of Luganville town |
Source: Tourism department, Sanma Province
Sanma Information Centre, Luganville -
