Overview
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimate that in 2011 the total contribution of the industry to Papua New Guinea’s GDP was 2.5%. In 2011 this was forecast to rise by 4.5% per annum over the coming decade. As a result of the small industry the WTTC ranks Papua New Guinea 180th out of 181 countries in terms of the relative contribution of tourism to the economy. The sector provides 2.1% of employment which was set to rise in line with industry growth, meaning that the WTTC estimates that in 2022 71,000 people will be employed in the travel and tourism sector. Visitor exports generated 0.1% of total exports in 2011 which was predicted to fall over the next ten years. In 2010 Papua New Guinea received 147, 000 visitors.
Investment
The government has targeted tourism as a priority area for the economic development of the country and for the creation of employment opportunities at rural and urban levels. The Tourism Promotion Authority is the key body assisting the country in reaching this goal. The authority promotes a variety of activities including surfing, snorkelling and diving, bird watching and trekking. There is also a strong focus on cultural and historical tourism comprising of traditional culture and WWII history. Flights to the country are from various locations around Asia and Australasia. There is interest and growth in ecotourism and scope for investment in that area.
In 2011 investment in the tourism and travel industry was PGK208mn, constituting 3.8% of total investment. This was expected to rise by 6% in 2012, and then continue to rise by 1.9% over the following ten years, reaching PGK266.6mn by 2022.
