raonraonpng: Gulf Provincial Government keen to ascertain its tourism potential

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Gulf Provincial Government keen to ascertain its tourism potential

Gulf Province has unique tousim products that is suitable to all tourism segments and available throughout all seasons. All we need is to make the tourism products market ready. James Hasu, Deputy PA - Gulf Provincial Administration

Gulf province’s Kerema town is one of the least developed provincial townships in PNG with all basic infrastructures that been developed during the colonial era with historical evidences of early missionaries landed at Moru Bay 109 years ago.

Despite the LNG investment and exploration activities are ongoing in the province; the local villagers’ lifestyles have never changed. The usual trade of buai (betel nut) with the people from Port Moresby who commutes to Kerema for buai trade brings money for local people’s basic needs of the day and life is usual for the Gulf of Papua dwellers.

Gulf still has an endless prospective to venture into tourism and agriculture while its shores are used as exit points for the lucrative oil and gas fields of the Southern Highlands.

The location of Gulf Province is logistically ideal for trade and business with accessibly via road; sea and air are practically convenient. Despite the strategic location and ease of accessibility, there are not major economical activities in the province apart from the ongoing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exploration and investments in the area which is connected to the upper level beneficiaries. The livelihoods for the Kerema people revolve around usual activities like fishing, hunting and gardening. Although the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project is happening at the doorstep; the Gulf people continue to remain passive spectators and with the tourism being introduced to the province, it will set some light into sustainable tourism investments for Gulf people. Hence, the Gulf Provincial Tourism Workshop hosted in Kerema town on November 04^th was intended to set the light for Gulf business owners, community leaders and resource owners to shift their focus into tourism and was overwhelmingly supported by the participants.

The province being located on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea is dominated by highland mountains and terrains with lowland river deltas and wide expanses of seasonally flooded grass plains. The Turama, the Kikori, the Purari and the Vailala are just some of the great rivers that flow into the swampy, delta-land of the Papuan Gulf from the mountains as far as the highlands of PNG.

Generally Kerema has the complex environmental landscape that accounts for unique flora and fauna species and marine biodiversity. The vegetation within the gulf differs and not vastly covered by one particular vegetation. The complex vegetation consists of savannah to swamp that connects with lowland rainforests to the high mountain rainforests that connects with nearby Highlands and Momase Provinces. The vastness of the complex vegetation and landscape for Gulf of Papua is home to the world’s biggest Black Bass and Catfish as well as Barramundi. This has been confirmed by Gulf Provincial Tourism Office from the statistics gathered with National Game Fishing Association. The Game Fishing is currently, the only tourism activity in the Gulf Province and benefits at the community level are said to be tangible.

The Gulf Provincial Government though its Commerce and Tourism Division having greater interest to tap into the tourism potential after not seeing any benefits towards the communities out of the LNG projects and investments in the province. Hence, the first Gulf Provincial Tourism Workshop at Hotel Kerema was the opportunity for the Gulf Provincial Government, stakeholders and resources owners to discuss the way forward to make the tourism potentials of Gulf a reality. The PNGTPA official have been invited to the workshop which has more than thirty (30) participants; especially the community leaders, councillors, resource owners, tourism business operators and general business operators in the province.

The acting District Administrator, Mr. James Hasu officially opened the Gulf Provincial Tourism Conference with the emphasis on tourism being one of the sleeping giant for Gulf Province which have been hidden by the perception that LNG investment and developments will generate more spin-off and improve livelihood of the people but it never eventuates as such economy operates on the upper level economy and never scales down to the individuals at the village level like tourism investment can deliver.

Being the TPA officer on the ground, I visited the selected tourism product sites that were presented at the Gulf Provincial Tourism Workshop by the Gulf Tourism Officer (Mr. Vincent Ehari) and without doubt I admitted that Gulf of Kerema has the tourism products that can be offered to tourists all year round from and water sports to trekking and relaxation on the nice and peaceful beaches like Pariva and Iokea which have vast stretch of beach that breaks the waves which sweeps the beach clear. The beaches in Kerema area ideal for board and kite surfing or camping and lazing by the beach while quenching the thirst with a young coconut juice (kulau) and wait for the sun to wade off over the breaking waves to get a glimpse of the striking sunset off the horizon sending out the rays to the sky, the sea below that reflects the rays on the surface naturally colouring the sky, sea and the beach.

The Gulf Province has already triggered the tourism interest domestically and to some extend internationally by Iokea villager and self-talented singer/song writer Robert Oeka with his 90s hit song ‘Kerema Yu No Save.’ The video clip, lyrics and musical composition have created interests for many people in PNG and overseas enticing them to visit Kerema by themselves. The song literally mean to listeners to go and explore Kerema, a place you have not known yet, now it is time to explore Kerema and tourism will pave the way.

Thanks to Gulf Provincial Administration for inviting me to visit Kerema, now it makes me realize that the province truly has its unique allure. Kerema is a place someone has to visit to know better than the curiosity out of the song from Robert Oeka’s ‘Kerema yu no save’ and it’s truly a gulf with vastness of beauty and attraction. It is certain the name ‘Gulf of Papua’ derived as the provincial name and gulf has what it envisages of Kerema.