I left our Witu Island a few year ago, hoping to learn to promote tourism as an alternative income to our Island population. For generations we have lived on subsistence farming and gathering resources from the forests and oceans that surround us. At Kokopo, in East New Britain I completed a course in tourism and worked with the Tourism Promotion Bureau to gather the required expertise to reach the world, to promote our Island as a tourist destination.
Finally, it was time to put the knowledge into practice, by creating a tourism promotional and marketing strategy, that would benefit most families in our Island. Hours of planning and support from contacts that I developed, our dreams were realized.
I acknowledge the support of my colleagues at Tourism promotion bureau in Kokopo and New Zealand Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA) advisers for their support.
