There are easier jobs in the Pacific than taking over a tourism portfolio just as visitor numbers start climbing again.
But the Solomon Islands’ newly appointed Minister for Culture & Tourism, the Hon. James Bonuga, walked into the role this week looking less like a nervous rookie and more like a man who understands tourism is serious business, particularly when an entire economy is leaning hopefully toward the arrivals gate.
At his first official meeting with the team charged with selling the Solomon Islands to the world, Minister Bonuga was given a close-up look at a tourism sector quietly rebuilding momentum after several bruising years for global travel.
Held at Tourism Solomons headquarters in Honiara, the meeting brought together Ministry of Culture & Tourism Permanent Secretary Bunyan Sivoro, Director of Tourism Greg Auta’a, Tourism Solomons Acting CEO Dagnal Dereveke and senior members of the national tourism office.
Thankfully, this was not one of those meetings where people gather around a polished table simply to admire the catering and exchange PowerPoint slides nobody intends to read later.
There was substance.
PS Sivoro briefed the minister on the organisation’s mandates, legislation, regulations and strategic direction, while Tourism Solomons officials outlined current international marketing activity and visitor performance figures.
And the numbers gave the room good reason to smile.
International visitor arrivals climbed to 28,548 last year, more than 13 per cent higher than the previous period and only 382 visitors short of the Solomon Islands’ all-time tourism record set in 2019.
For a destination still rebuilding confidence, airline access and regional visibility matter enormously.
In tourism terms, the Solomon Islands is no longer simply “recovering”. It is edging back into the contest.
Minister Bonuga was also updated on the destination’s positioning in international markets and the unique selling points driving Tourism Solomons’ strategy.
Frankly, the country possesses something modern tourism increasingly struggles to manufacture: authenticity that hasn’t been polished into submission by marketing consultants.
While some destinations now resemble giant outdoor shopping centres with beaches attached, the Solomon Islands still feel gloriously untamed.
The diving remains spectacular. The wartime history remains compelling. The culture remains deeply genuine. And the islands themselves still deliver that increasingly rare sensation that travellers crave: discovery.
Tourism Solomons has wisely continued leaning heavily into those strengths.
Minister Bonuga acknowledged the challenges still facing the sector and stressed the importance of stronger cooperation between the government, Tourism Solomons and private industry operators.
He also praised the work already undertaken by the tourism team and indicated he was keen to work collaboratively moving forward.
That may sound routine, but collaboration in tourism is often spoken about far more enthusiastically than it is practised.
Every tourism operator wants a partnership until somebody asks who is paying for the marketing campaign.
Still, the Solomon Islands appears better positioned than many regional competitors because government support is no longer arriving in teaspoons.
Minister Bonuga replaces the Hon. Choylin Yim Douglas, who made history in 2024 as the first woman to hold the Culture & Tourism portfolio.
Importantly, her tenure delivered more than symbolism.
Ms Yim Douglas helped secure the largest tourism funding increase in Solomon Islands’ history, lifting the annual tourism budget dramatically from SBD10 million to SBD46 million.
That sort of financial jump gets attention very quickly in Pacific tourism circles.
It has provided Tourism Solomons with a stronger capacity to market internationally, support industry development and sharpen its competitive standing across the region.
And competition across the Pacific is becoming increasingly fierce.
Travellers now expect seamless digital booking systems, stronger aviation links, sustainable tourism practices and high-quality visitor experiences, preferably all delivered with island smiles and without island delays.
That balancing act is rarely easy.
But the Solomon Islands still enjoys one significant advantage many destinations would envy: it has not lost its soul chasing tourism dollars.
That authenticity continues resonating strongly with divers, adventure travellers, cultural visitors and increasingly experience-driven international markets searching for destinations that feel real rather than manufactured.
For Minister Bonuga and Tourism Solomons, the challenge now is to convert encouraging momentum into sustained, long-term growth.
Judging by the tone emerging from Honiara this week, there is cautious confidence that the country may finally be entering a far more stable chapter in tourism.
And after several turbulent years for global travel, cautious confidence probably beats reckless optimism every day of the week.
by Sandra Jones – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 4 minutes.
About the Author.
Sandra has spent a working lifetime quietly rescuing journeys, one itinerary, one anxious caller, one impossible connection at a time. Years in Australia’s finest travel agencies taught her the art of calm, how to find a flight in a fog of cancellations, how to soothe a traveller when luggage wanders, how to turn nine frantic days in Europe into something resembling sense. Qualified, seasoned, endlessly patient, she learned that good travel advice is part logistics, part listening.
But the storyteller in her was always waiting its turn. Writing offered a new map, a way to turn experience into reflection, detail into delight. At Global Travel Media, Sandra now writes the truths only insiders know: the mishaps, the laughter, the grace found between gates and goodbyes. She reminds us that travel, for all its fuss, is still one of life’s better ideas.
