Tourists cancel following Mendi unrest: Show committee

A good number of tourists have cancelled their plans to attend the Mt Hagen annual cultural show.

Chairman of the Mt Hagen Show Committee, John Bonny, said the tourists cancelled their plans after learning of the election-related violence in Mendi, Southern Highlands.

The spill-over effects of the election-related riot in Mendi Town is impacting other Highlands provinces as well.

While Western Highlands Province is gearing up for its 59th annual cultural show, its tourist numbers has dropped.

A disappointed chairman of the Mt Hagen Show Committee, Bonny, said a good number of tourists cancelled their bookings to the show when they learned of the June 14th rampage in Mendi.

He said while Mendi is in another province, it is part of the Highlands Region, hence the fear.

But the good news is that about 1,000 tourists have not cancelled.

His advice to them is Mt Hagen is a peaceful city with a mixture of people from all over PNG and that tourists must prepare their lenses well because they will be amazed at the 100 different cultural groups confirmed to perform.

Apart from that there will be live band performances by renowned PNG artists such as Wame Blood, B'Rad, K-Dumen and Leonard Kania, among many others.

Bonny said the highlight of the show will be skydiving.

The 59th Mt Hagen Cultural Show is confirmed to be staged on the 18th and 19th of August 2018 at the Kagamuga Show Grounds.

Gate fee for the show is K5 for adults and K2 for children. Stalls are still available at K2,500. 

Bonny said they expect a crowd of 50,000.

The show will be officially opened by Australian High Commissioner, Bruce Davis, on Saturday 18th August.

(Filepic)

Author: 
Carolyn Ure