Will Tonga lose NZ tourists to Australia's Olympics? [1]
Thursday, July 1, 1999 - 02:00. Updated on Thursday, January 7, 2016 - 19:24.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 3, July 1999.
John Koldowski of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) made a luncheon presentation at the National Cultural Centre on August 20. PATA circulates marketing information to member organisations.
John stressed the important role of information to the industry. For example, “because 71 per cent of the tourists who come to Tonga are from New Zealand, what is Tonga going to do during the build-up to the Sydney Olympics when many New Zealanders will be off to Australia?”
“We have found that a lot of young travellers are attracted to New Zealand and Australia, and to South America, so we have to find ways of attracting them to stop in the Pacific islands.”
John warned that by September 9 if computer users in the industry had not solved their Y2K problems, they would start to feel the impact. John was accompanied by Sharon Hannaford, Pacific Director PATA.