Press Releases

Visitor Spending Increased in September 2025 Despite Declining Visitor Arrivals

Posted on Oct 30, 2025 in News For Immediate Release: October 30, 2025 HONOLULU—According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), there were 690,858 total visitors to the Hawaiian...

Tourism Off to a Positive Start for 2025

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 in News For Immediate Release: February 27, 2025 HONOLULU—According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), there were 792,177 visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in...

Kiribati Tourism Takes a Sustainable Leap with Historic Policy Launch

In a momentous event that will shape the future of Kiribati’s tourism landscape, the Kiribati Tourism Sustainable Policy (KTSP) was officially launched on January 13, 2024, at the Betio Sport Complex in Tarawa. This groundbreaking initiative...

Kiribati empowers entrepreneurs to enhance economic activity

Group work during the Start and Improve Your Business Training of Trainers, Kiribati. © ILO TARAWA (ILO News) – Representatives from Kiribati’s government, state-owned enterprises, training institutions, civil society as well as entrepreneurs took...

Tourism Industry Continued to Show Weakness in January 2024

Posted on Feb 29, 2024 in News For Immediate Release: February 29, 2024 HONOLULU—In January 2024, total visitor arrivals to the Hawaiian Islands (763,480 visitors, -3.6%) and total visitor spending measured in nominal dollars ($1.81 billion,...

July 2024 Visitor Statistics Showed Some Signs of Improvement in Tourism Industry

Posted on Aug 29, 2024 in News For Immediate Release: August 29, 2024 HONOLULU—According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), total visitor arrivals declined slightly but total...

Pacific Tourism Organisation and Vanuatu Tourism Office Collaborate on Data Analytics Capacity-Building Workshop in Port Vila

As the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) in-country visits continue, the SPTO team, in collaboration with the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO), was in Port Vila from July 1 to July 5 to conduct a week-long capacity-building workshop. The workshop...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Partners with FSM-Yap to Drive Data Excellence for Sustainable Development

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) in collaboration with the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) conducted a week-long in-country workshop (June 10-14) focused on data initiatives and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard under the Pacific...

Pacific Marine Tourism Guidelines Set to Support Sustainable Tourism Practices

The Pacific Marine Tourism Guidelines is being developed through a collaboration between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Pacific Tourism Organisation to inform the sustainable development and management of...

Towards 2030 – Kiribati begins work on Sustainable Tourism Indicators

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK), in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), has commenced work on the development of Kiribati’s Sustainable Tourism Indicators. This...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Partners with Papua New Guinea Tourism to Drive Data Excellence for Sustainable Development

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) in collaboration with the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority (PNGTPA) conducted a week-long in-country workshop (May 13-17) focused on data initiatives and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking...

PacWastePlus commissions incinerator improving management of healthcare waste in Kiribati

28 May 2024, Tarawa - Communities in Kiribati can now count on better management of healthcare waste on the island thanks to the recent commissioning of an incinerator for the disposal of medical waste at the Ronton Hospital, Kirimati. The...

Buyer Registrations Close for South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE) 2024

Today, the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) announced the successful closure of buyer registrations for the South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE) 2024, with an impressive turnout of seventy international travel buyers from Europe, Japan, the...

Tourism Industry Affected by Maui Wildfires in August 2023

Posted on Sep 28, 2023 in News For Immediate Release: September 28, 2023 HONOLULU—According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), a total of 769,163 visitors came to the Hawaiian...

Unlocking the Potential of Pacific Marine Tourism: Paving the Way Forward with Innovative Guidelines

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) are advancing efforts on a transformative journey to shape the future of marine tourism in the Pacific. Commencing...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Team up with the Cook Islands for Data Excellence Workshop

This week, the Pacific Tourism Organisation has teamed up with the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation to conduct a week-long in-country training focused on data initiatives and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard under the Pacific...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Unveils Ground-breaking Data Training Program in Solomon Islands

In a significant milestone, the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) launched the Pacific Tourism Data Initiative (PTDI) and introduced the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Indicators Framework training in the Solomon Islands in February. Spearheaded by...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Champions Data-Driven Tourism Growth in Tonga

In a collaborative effort to enhance the capabilities of Tonga Tourism, the Tongan Government ministries, and the Statistics Department, around 20 participants are engaging in a five-day training organized by the Pacific Tourism Organisation...

PTI Australia’s Advanced Digital Tourism Workshops equip Small Island States to boost key online presence

Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia is hosting a series of workshops in March to build the digital capacity amongst tourism operators in some of the Pacific’s remote tourism destinations. Reflecting international tourist’s ever-increasing...

Visitor Satisfaction Survey Consultation to boost North Tarawa Accommodation Experience

As part of targeted efforts to elevate visitor experiences, a Visitor Satisfaction Survey (VSS) consultation was held on January 25, 2024, at the Ocean View Hotel in North Tarawa. Organized by the Research and Statistics Division within the...