The Heilala Festival 2023 including the popular Miss Heilala Pageant returns in Nuku'alofa from 26 June to 7 July, after a three-years hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Results for Tourism
Wednesday 3 May 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Monday 1 May 2023
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Auckland, New Zealand
The South Pacific Sailing Network Conference, “Reviving South Pacific Cruising” was held from 26-27 April 2023 at Orams Marine Boat Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The conference targeted marine authorities, individuals, organizations, and businesses involved with yachting around the South Pacific.

Friday 14 April 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The cruise ship, Celebrity Eclipse, visited Nuku'alofa for a day, arriving with more than 3000 passengers and crew on 14 April.

Monday 13 February 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
With 2023 the year of revival, the local tourism industry that was hit hard with the closure of Tonga's international borders in 2020 has 18 cruise ships listed to visit.

Monday 30 January 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Zuiderdam is the second cruise to visit Nuku'alofa in 2023, arriving with more than 2000 passengers and crew at Vuna Wwharf, today 30 January.

Tuesday 24 January 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Celebrity Eclipse is the first cruise to visit Nuku'alofa in 2023, arriving with more than 2600 passengers at Vuna wharf on 23 January.

Saturday 21 January 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tourism operators in Tonga's top destination, say Vava'u is once again being crippled by a lack of air services. The Tonga government-owned Lulutai Airlines withdrew the services of its main SAAB340 aircraft from 17 January 2023, and there's no indication of when a replacement might come into service for the Vava'u and Ha'apai groups.

Thursday 31 March 2022
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga won the BIE Gold Award for exhibition design at the Expo 2020 Dubai on March 30, for its “supreme aesthetic functionality with extraordinary visitor discovery” in the the Opportunity District, Interior Design Category.

Tuesday 6 July 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A float parade and fun fair events were held on Monday, July 5 a public holiday in Tonga. People flocked to the Nuku'alofa waterfront to enjoy the events, after more than a year since mass gatherings, including the annual Heilala Festival were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Friday 19 June 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 'Beautiful Tonga Clean Up' campaign held earlier this year, has today presented new lawnmowers to eight villages who did the best clean up work in Tongatapu.

Tuesday 2 June 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Statistics show a major decrease in international visitors to Tonga between January to March, in comparison to 2019, as CoViD-19 started to spread worldwide and in the months before Tonga closed its border.

Monday 13 April 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tongatapu's best beaches along the Sunset Coast, remain deeply embedded with the shrapnel-like remains of resort buildings ravaged by the “unbelievable power” of Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold's storm surge on Thursday.
Thursday 26 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's Heilala Festival 2020 has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday 21 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new two-storey office building for Tonga’s Ministry of Tourism, named ‘Api ko Lata‘anga, was officially opened by HRH Princess Pilolevu Tuita on 19 March 2020 behind the Tonga Tourism centre on Hala Vuna, Nuku'alofa.

Monday 2 March 2020
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Auckland, New Zealand
Air New Zealand has cut down on its Auckland-Apia weekly services from six to three effective today, 2 March, after receiving a directive for all airlines by the Samoan Government.

Friday 28 February 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The cruise ship MS Amsterdam has been cleared by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to dock in Nuku’alofa at 8am on 28 February and depart at 5pm.

Wednesday 26 February 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga has limited whale watching and swimming licences for the 2020 whale watching season for the management, protection and conservation of whales, effective on 25 February, after record number of applications for licences was received.

Thursday 13 February 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's tourism industry, while preparing to welcome visitors off three cruise ships on Wednesday, has been hit hard with the last minute cancellations.

Thursday 17 October 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
Tonga’s Ministry for Tourism welcomed the new Minister for Tourism Hon. ‘Akosita Havili Lavulavu, who met members of the Tonga Tourist Association at the Ministry for Tourism Office, Vuna Road, this morning.

Wednesday 11 September 2019
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Tongan delegation attended the Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo 2019 at the Baiyun International Convention Center on August 23-26.
