The Kokoda incident is a setback for promotion overseas, says Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) chief executive officer Peter Vincent.
But an optimistic Vincent says the independent assessment given by tour operators, Charlie Lynn and Frank Taylor gives a balanced picture of the two tourists account of their ordeal reported in a London newspaper.
Both operators represent 80 precent of the Australian market.
“In the last 12-18 months, TPA has engaged women models to promote and market Kokoda to (potential) women trackers.
“We have done it through our Sydney office, through PR perspective and the incident is a setback,” Vincent said.