Solomon Airlines and the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) have announced a new memorandum of understanding (MNOU) that will see the airline and the Bureau work together to advertise and promote the Solomon Islands overseas.
The announcement was made at a gathering of the Solomon Islands business community on the night of Friday 28 February at Henderson International airport during a networking event organised by the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI).
Both parties intend to aggressively market tourism in the Solomon Islands overseas and the partnership will allow the airline and the Visitors Bureau to maximise their visibility overseas while keeping costs to a minimum.
The event featured keynote addresses from Airlines chief executive officer (CEO) Captain Ron Sumsum and new CEO of the SIVB Josefa Tuamoto.
Mr Tuamoto has considerable previous experience working for Fiji tourism during which time he was able to make a valuable contribution to lifting the country’s tourism profile in the Australian and U.S markets.
The agreement also paves the way for SIVB to travel to approve travel shows beyond our shores without the huge burden of high fares and will allow more travel writers and more travel agents to visit the Solomon Islands to experience our products and services first hand.
The event was also aimed at raising funds for local fashion designer Miss Lyan Tingiia.
Miss Tingiia designed the Crown for the recent Miss South Pacific Beauty Pageant. She received a formal invitation from the U.K to attend a fashion festival after her design was subsequently noticed by the international news media.
The fashion festival, held in London, will allow her to showcase her designs and the appeal to raise funds for her trip was a joint initiative from the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation and SICCI.
2014 looms as a year of continued development for Solomon Airlines. They have recently boosted their travel allowance and hope to upgrade their website and introduce a mobile phone app in the coming months. In coming weeks they will open their new corporate travel centre in Tong’s building, Honiara.
