BY INDY MAEALASIA

THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism has set a target to attract 100,000 visitors to the country by the year 2035.

“That is the overarching target we are working on starting next year (2025) until 2035,” Permanent Secretary (PS), Barney Sivoro told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in a hearing over the weekend.

Sivoro said that the ministry is confident in meeting this target based on the various ongoing developments,

Some of the developments the PS pointed out include the upgrades of international and domestic airports nationwide, new and unique products, the reciprocal visa on arrival for Chinese nationals, the recent discovery of the biggest coral in Makira province, sports tourism, and many others. that can potentially boost the number of visitors traveling into the country. 

Additionally, Sivoro informed the PAC that another positive development for the ministry is the ongoing partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Solomon Islands Threshold Program (SITHP)

“With the support of SITHIP, we have already profiled 100 plus tourism investment ready sites in the Western, Guadalcanal, and Central provinces, some of them are already in the market now and we have already engaged a consultant who will be negotiating with potential investors,” he added.  

Sivoro stressed that by achieving this target, the tourism sector could potentially become a billionaire sector, contributing immensely to the country’s national GDP.