Readership of businessadvantagepng.com has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic and State of Emergency in Papua New Guinea.

Port Moresby from above. Credit: David Kirkland

Papua New Guinea’s online business magazine has broken readership records during PNG’s State of Emergency.

During the SOE period, which started on 24 March and ended on 16 June, businessadvantagepng.com was accessed by no fewer than 91,000 readers, who read 218,000 pages of content, a 75% increase on the same period in 2019.

While around 55% of the site’s readers are based in PNG, the significant proportion of international readers demonstrates the key role the site plays as an interface between PNG and global markets.

Businessadvantagepng.com was already PNG’s top online business publication (source: Amazon Alexa web rankings, 2019) before this surge in readership, and has recorded over a quarter of a million individual visitors to the site in the past 12 months – a 46% increase on the previous 12 months.

Flight to quality

‘This recent audience growth is unprecedented,’ said Andrew Wilkins, Publishing Director, ‘suggesting a ‘flight to quality’ – as readers seek out reliable and authoritative content during PNG’s State of Emergency.

‘We have also expanded our service during this time, scheduling regular online business briefings to give our readers access to expert opinion on PNG’s most topical business issues, and expanding our Doing Business in Papua New Guinea online guide.’

While around 55% of the site’s readers are based in PNG, the significant proportion of international readers demonstrates the key role the site plays as an interface between PNG and global markets.

businessadvantagepng.com was launched by Business Advantage International in 2013.