It’s the one thing the Pacific does best: Everitt







South-Pacific.travel CEO Tony Everitt heads back to New Zealand after three years with the regional tourism outfit. But he has a word of advice for our leaders and governments:
  • Support tourism because it has a lot of rewards such as increased employment and a better economy and lifestyle for your people.
  Under Everitt, south-pacific.travel has sailed through a mixture of political, financial and environmental problems to ensure tourism dubbed the Pacific jewel continues to shine.
  But he believes that tourism is the one thing the South Pacific does best and should be supported by our leaders and governments “because it will reward you in terms of increased employment and a better economy and lifestyle for your people”.
  “The South Pacific can say we are the best in the world when it comes to delivering the ultimate in tourist experience.
  “We have an amazing product here. We have an amazing diversity of cultures.
  “The pride of our people and the pristine nature of our environment these are the assets of our region.”
  Everitt, however, is pleased that leaders are now giving tourism the priority it deserves.
  “What has been really pleasing to see is our leaders now understand the value of tourism. This is very encouraging to see. 
  Since he took over the helm of south-pacific.travel, tourism numbers have continued to grow.
  “In 2006, we were welcoming 1.15 million people but the great thing is we have grown our business every year by three to four percent.
  “You know in 2008 we had the oil crisis where people were selling $150 for a barrel and people told us that would be the end of tourism and yet we grew three percent.
  “Even though we have had lots of challenges, we have grown. We do not have the figures for 2009, but I can tell you that for the first half to June 2009, we actually went down. But even then, 2009 was the depth of the financial crisis. Even then we might be able to show a bit of growth or may be just a break-even.”
  A lot of this growth could be owed to Everitt’s own innovation to connect the Pacific to the worldwide net selling tourism online, instead of flying all the way to Europe to get visitors to fly down.
  This online presence, he says, is helping build awareness of the Pacific.
  “Really, the internet and the whole online marketing revolution is the ultimate equaliser. You don’t have to be big and rich to be able to use the online devices. These days it is not about how much money but about know-how and how to get smart. It is very much the way of the future. The interesting thing about online market (when we sell travel), the only thing that moves is the customer and they come to our factory, which is essentially the South Pacific.
  “And the whole name change from SPTO to south-pacific.travel is to emphasise the importance of this whole online issue,” he said.
  Everitt, however, is proud to have overseen the completion of the big Pacific Pavilion at the World Expo Shanghai 2010 that will be paraded for the 70 million visitors who will witness the event.
  Everitt said another highlight of his career was the increased understanding of the importance and value of tourism in the Pacific by Pacific people and particularly by our leaders.
  “I think it is probably fair to say if you look back 10 years ago tourism in the Pacific was really just concentrated in maybe two or three countries in terms of being very, very significant.
  “Now it is quite widespread right across the region now. We have got a whole bunch of destinations like Samoa, Cook Islands and Vanuatu that over the last 10 years have really improved and tourism has really become vital to them.”
  He said places like Fiji and Tahiti had made tourism probably their largest industries over the years.
  “Then we have another bunch of destinations that are also taking tourism very seriously and growing very quickly from a small base.
  “Places like PNG, Solomon Islands which just a couple of years ago prioritised tourism as a national development priority but to help supplement some of their land-based industries, which perhaps are finite. You may only have so much number of trees but tourism goes on forever if we manage it properly.
  “Even some of our tiny members, Niue, Tuvalu and Kiribati, they are working really hard on their tourism.”
  But he has vowed to continue his love affair with the Pacific adding that friends made in the region will remain forever.