Pacific tourism is in the news again. The South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) released this week its latest estimate of tourist arrivals. The number of tourists who flocked to Pacific island countries (PICs) last year is 1.7 million. The figure for the previous year is 1.5 million. Certainly, tourism to the Pacific is on the…
Last week’s visit to Fiji by Australia’s foreign minister, Ms. Bishop has raised hopes of return to normalcy in bilateral relations between the two countries. The visit has been fruitful in many ways: Fiji has been added to the list of Pacific island countries (PICs), which are eligible for Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Workers Program. This…
100 years of celebration of SDA church in SI – Part 1 TULAGITulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the…
100 years of celebration of the SDA church in SI – Part 2 GIZOGizo is the capital of the Western Province in the Solomon Islands. With a population of 6,154 (2005 estimates), it is the second largest town in the country. It is situated on Ghizo Island approximately 380 kilometers west-northwest of the capital, Honiara,…
Rodrick Bay Hideaway has thanked Solomon Island Visitors Bureau (SIVB) for its support towards the preparation of the up-coming yacht festival. To be hosted by Rodrick Bay Hideaway, it would run from 27th -30th of June. SIVB upon request from Rodrick Bay Hideaway donated $10,000 towards preparation of the event. Further funding support will be…
Two tourism operators in Florida Island, Central Island province last Tuesday have settled their past differences through a reconciliation ceremony. The reconciliation took place during a weeklong tourism inspections and evaluation by officials from the Green Tourism SI Ltd. The reconciliation was held between directors of Pota Sauragi Eco Lodge, Pota Sagupari and Taupuipui Island…
Green Tourism Solomon Island Ltd has successfully completed its week-long evaluation and inspection of four (4) eco-tourism properties on Florida Island, Central Island province last week. The evaluation and inspection was conducted at four eco-tourism properties namely Roderick Bay Hideaway, Roderick Bay Beach Resort, Pota Saurangi Eco-Lodge, and Tapuipui Island Resort. The inspection started off…
The Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan has formally released the first payment of the “2014 ROC funding support to the Solomon Islands government. This amount catered for the 50 MPs constituencies and the remaining 2013 ROC Funding support (covering 20 constituencies against their acquittal report). The funding support in the total amount SBD$22.5M was presented…
A call has been issued by the Transparency Solomon Islands (TSI) on the Solomon Islands Government to make it illegal for anyone to buy or collect voter registration cards. Last week, TSI’s Advocacy Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) received a report that an intending candidate from a Honiara constituency is not only buying voters ID cards,…
FIRST time in the Solomon Islands, one of the greatest Jamaica reggae bands alive, Inner Circle is heading to our shore next month. Heritage Park Hotel is again hosting another car park show on Sunday 22 June. Inner Circle is best known for “Bad Boys” and their smash hit “A la la long”. The group…