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PSDI addresses SPTO Council of Ministers on industry resilience, crisis planning
The Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative’s (PSDI) tourism team has addressed the Pacific Tourism Organisation’s (SPTO) Council of Ministers on its work to bolster tourism sector resilience, coordination, and crisis planning in the post-COVID-19 era.
PSDI Tourism Expert Sara Currie from 1-3 November 2022 attended the SPTO Board and Council of Ministers Meeting in the Cook Islands, the first held in person since COVID-19.
The meeting also included the inaugural Pacific Sustainable Tourism Leaders Summit, which explored regional tourism resilience, inclusivity, sustainability, and equality.
PSDI Tourism Expert Sara Currie (seated, third from right) at the SPTO board meeting.
Dr Currie addressed the SPTO Council of Ministers on 3 November, outlining PSDI’s support for a sustainable, inclusive, and private sector-led Pacific tourism sector.
Dr Currie discussed PSDI’s work boosting the tourism crisis management capabilities and resilience of the 14 Pacific developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank, including through the development of a post-COVID-19 tourism reopening framework.
She also outlined PSDI’s support to the Tonga Ministry of Tourism, including an upcoming assessment of the impact of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HT-HH) volcanic eruption and tsunami, and COVID-19 on Tonga’s tourism sector.
The Tonga Tourism Crises Impacts Assessment Report will estimate the cost of damages sustained from TC Harold in April 2020 and the HT-HH event in January 2022, as well as the economic losses from stalled inbound tourism due to COVID-19.
PSDI is an Asian Development Bank technical assistance program undertaken in partnership with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. PSDI supports ADB's 14 Pacific developing member countries to improve the enabling environment for business and to achieve inclusive, private sector-led economic growth.
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