James Lau, Managing Director of Rimbunan Hijau Group tells Business Advantage PNG that he sees positive developments with hotels, agriculture, gold and the country’s preparations for the 2018 APEC meeting. But he says continuing weakness in commodity prices will limit Papua New Guinea’s growth in the short to medium-term.
A boom in new restaurants is improving the quality and variety of dining options in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, as never before, observes Andrew Wilkins.
By the time of the APEC Summit in 2018, Port Moresby could have as many as 2590 high-end hotel rooms, and conference capacity for many thousands. Hoteliers tell Business Advantage PNG that the increase in scale and quality means the capital could become a world-class regional conference venue.
Port Moresby’s newest hotel, the Stanley, opened in July in central Waigani. It is Papua New Guinea’s biggest hotel and one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Grace Maribu takes a look.
Cruise liner tourism in PNG and the Solomon Islands could grow five-fold within two years, according to a study commissioned by the Australian Government, the IFC and cruise operator Carnival Australia. We asked the IFC’s Senior Operations Office, Dina Nicholas, what will make this growth happen.
The new Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby will operate on a scale not seen before in Papua New Guinea, General Manager Geoff Haigh tells Business Advantage PNG. He says once all stages of the project are completed customers will not have to leave.
The search for new business avenues sees Port Moresby’s Collins Shipping teaming up with Chinese maritime researchers to do a voyage to the bottom of the sea. And there’s the prospect of a new adventure tourism activity. Kevin McQuillan reports
The hosting of the APEC Summit in Port Moresby in 2018 has sparked a flurry of investment in tourism infrastructure. It promises to kick start the country’s tourism industry as the nation’s capital gets more hotel rooms, airports are upgraded and a new tourism minister takes the helm.
Claims by the international media, and one outlet in particular, about the conditions and communities along the Kokoda Track have threatened the reputation of the tourism and trekking industry in PNG, writes Genevieve Nelson, the CEO of the Kokoda Track Foundation.
In spite of the talk about an economic slowdown in 2016, Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, is a city where plenty is still happening as 2015 comes to a close. Business Advantage International’s Andrew Wilkins reflects on recent discussions with Papua New Guinea business leaders.