The PNG Business Council (BCPNG) is urging local trek and tour operators to increase their standards and professionalism to compete with their Australian counterparts operating in PNG.
Executive Director, Douveri Henao, tells Loop PNG that local tour operators need to up their game and be competitive against Australian businesses.
“The first one is that we just need to increase our game. People will trust our operators largely because of their standards, their accessibility, and generally their professionalism,” he said.
“And we should never compromise those market driven standards. If that is what trekkers want, then we need to up our game. And when we do up our game, that means let’s go to the markets where those trekkers are; Sydney, Melbourne wherever.
“So I think the first thing and probably the most important thing is, there needs to be a strong element of meritocracy. It needs to be merit based. Up your game, and play in the field.”
Douveri said this in response to calls by Buna Trek and Tours owner, Florence Bunari, who called on the Government to revisit commercial arrangements of the Kokoda Track.
Speaking to Loop PNG during the Australia-PNG Business Council Forum in Port Moresby recently, Bunari said the current arrangement favoured Australian trekkers and tour operators, who significantly outnumber PNG operatives.
“So if you want to trek Kokoda, seriously we must trek with Papua New Guinea companies. That’s the only way that we can really see the benefits of Kokoda Track.
“There are a lot of Papua New Guineans who trek with Australian companies so what they do is they pay the Australian businesses and the money is kept in Australia,” she said.
Douveri says a bi-lateral agreement between PNG and Australia would define these issues.
He added, Government can provide a series of quotas or reserve activities but it should come at a point where there is high competitiveness in that space.
Douveri, however, maintains that increasing standards and professionalism to compete is the way forward.
“Again, I come back to that point, you can’t have a premature government rule imposed on the industry, because you can’t force consumers to like something.
“If you reserve it to PNG trekking bodies only, they (tourists) may say that it’s not safe because we don’t see the standards that we see in Australia, and they may not come,” said Douveri.