Pacific Regional Tourism Initiative

completed

IFC's Pacific Regional Tourism Initiative will address constraints to tourism sector development in the Pacific, with an initial focus on the countries of Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga. The Pacific Regional Tourism Initiative is supported by AusAID. IFC will support an increase in demand for the Pacific tourism product by building partnerships between outbound tour operators in fast-growing Asian markets and private sector operators in targeted Pacific countries, with the goal of catalyzing Asian markets for future development. IFC will also work on the supply side by supporting development of infrastructure - including accommodation and other tourism-linked facilities. Finally, in 2014 IFC is partnering with cruise operators to conduct an economic impact study of cruise tourism in Vanuatu, which will provide baseline data on the sector and identify priority investment opportunities for cruise sector development and increased local economic impact from the cruise business.