In its efforts to promote tourism in Milne Bay Province, Egwalau Tours and Events is passionate about creating authentic, meaningful and memorable tourism experience for visitors.
Egwalau Tours is based in Alotau and was established in 2014.
The company is fully owned by two Milne Bay women, Maxine Nadile and Elaine Bate, and specialises in providing tours, event management and shore excursions.
When cruise ships arrive in Alotau, Egwalau Tours organises four tours for the tourists, the Battle of Milne Bay, Alotau historical tour, Alotau Festival and Ahioma culture tour.
The festival is a unique mini cultural event specifically hosted for cruise ships.
It showcases the rich cultural diversity of PNG with a variety of traditional dance groups, war canoes, arts and crafts sellers, contemporary performances and involves about 350 participants.
The Battle of Milne Bay is vital to the course of the Pacific War that was fought between the Australian Army units and Japanese.
It follows the trail of this gruesome battle, commencing at the east coast of Alotau then visiting the Turnbull War Memorial at Kainako.
Bate said it’s exciting but also challenging in operating Egwalau Tours because cruise tourism is new but is becoming popular in Milne Bay.
“We are just a two women business that is 100 percent Milne Bay owned and it hasn’t been easy but we are getting there,” Bate said with a smile.
Apart from cruise ships, Egwalau Tours also takes inbound tours in partnership with Paiya Tours in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province to bring down tourists and take them around Milne Bay.
The term Egwalau, like many of the greetings in the 53 languages of MBP, has more than one meaning.
It is a traditional greeting from the Northern Coast of MB which means hello, welcome, thank you or farewell.