The official handover of the Tourism Ministry will happen today in Port Moresby.
Following a cabinet reshuffle by the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill on Monday, the current Minister for Sports Justin Tkatchenko now takes the reins of the untapped industry which has huge potential to be a major revenue earner for PNG.
Planning Minister Charles Abel, who has been acting Tourism Minister, will be passing the baton to Tkatchenko.
“I am very privileged to have been chosen by Prime Minister Hon Peter O'Neill to take tourism to a whole new level,’’ Tkatchenko posted on social media yesterday.
“Tourism is our sleeping giant that needs the right leadership and direction to take it forward. With my personal experiences in this sector, I intend to do my best to turn the tourism industry in the country around, so the whole world knows how beautiful and unique our country is.
“Our people first and foremost need to change our attitudes and the way we do things if we are serious in our efforts to attract the rest of the world to our shores. It is not just about having people arrive in our country, it is also about how we look after them and treat them while they are here. It has to start with us.”
Fiji Times reported last week that Fiji holds 41 percent of the Pacific regional tourism market compared with PNG which holds 10 percent.
Fiji also has more than 58 percent of the Australian market with PNG sitting at 17.4 percent.