Tourism Solomons certainly isn’t wasting any time in its efforts to reinstate the Solomon Islands profile on the world travel stage.
Just weeks after the country reopened its borders, after more than 800 days cut off from the rest of the world, the national tourist office has moved quickly to reignite its International Media Visitation Program (IMVP) with its first two travel media guests arriving in Honiara International Airport on Tuesday (08 November).
The travel writers are Rachel Davy and Martina Sebova, better known as The Very Hungry Nomads, who for the past few years have been on a mission to visit every country on the planet.
After the Solomon Islands, just Kiribati and Samoa remain on their list.
During their travels, the pair have amassed a huge international audience, predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, via their blogs and articles reaching in excess of 95,000 avid followers.
While in the Solomon Islands, the pair’s itinerary has included discovering Honiara and also a stay in the Western Province where, based at the iconic Fatboys Resort, they have been introduced to a myriad array of activities.
These range from snorkelling, island hopping to visiting WWII sites and being introduced to the country’s unique people and culture.
Part of their program in the West has also been geared to showcase the large number and appeal of several eco-oriented boutique resorts scattered across the region, including Oravae Cottages, Imagination Island, Sanbis Resort and the Saeraghi Beach Homestay.
Tourism Solomons Head of Sales & Marketing, Fiona Teama said she was delighted at the speed with which the national tourist office has managed to get its IMVP restarted.
“As per our normal procedure, we are looking at bringing in those travel media we know will give us maximum return on our investment in them,” she said.
“The Very Hungry Nomads are a prime example of how we intend using bloggers to achieve our aims,” Ms teama said.
“But we are also looking at those media vehicles we can use to showcase our core strengths – be that diving, surfing, fishing, our history and of course our unique living culture,” she said.
Ms Teama made a point of thanking Solomon Airlines and the local tourism sector for its ongoing support with the national tourist office’s IMVP.
“This support is integral to what we are hoping to achieve going forward and we are extremely lucky – and very grateful – for the support our tourism sector has given and continues to give us,” she said.
Pictured, The Very Hungry Nomads (Martina on left and Rachel on right) with Tourism Solomons Team Leader Product Marketing, Garedd Porowai.
