Te Kaongora

Monthly Newsletter published by the Tourism Authority of Kiribati APRIL 2020 Issue

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Greetings from the Tourism Kam na bane ni Mauri. The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, and tourism has been the worst affected of all major economic sectors globally. Despite our isolation, Kiribati has not been spared from this devastating impact, particularly since the ceasing of all international flights into the country. Today, hotels and accommodation providers throughout our islands are either partially closed with minimal staffs or closed completely, fishing tours cancelled and other visitor activities cancelled as there aren’t any international tourists at the moment. Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) joins its global tourism family in acknowledging that this phase in our history will soon pass. And as we wait for resumption of international travel, TAK is teaming up with key partners to deliver capacity building, product development and digital marketing initiatives across the country. TAK is also acknowledges and appreciates stakeholders that are working to keep Kiribati COVID-19 free. We hope you will enjoy this Te Kaongora April issue.

ALSO INSIDE

• First Virtual Tourism Digital Workshop

• New Marine Protected Area Plan

• Tourism training in Maiana

• New COVID-19 Kiribati Website

• ANZ COVID-19 impact assistance

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Tourism included in Year 9 KCS Syllabus Tourism topics have for the first time become part of the school syllabus in Kiribati. This was confirmed by the Curriculum Development Office (CDO) who have stated that the tourism topic is now part of the Year 9 Kiribati Community Studies (KCS). read more

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in the Southern Line Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA) workshop to review the Draft SLIMPA Manage-ment Plan 2020 – 2024 on Thursday 16 April 2020. read more

TAK welcomes new Marine Protected Area plan

First Virtual Tourism Digital Workshop for Kiribati

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in partnership with the Pacific Trade and Invest (PTI) Australia and World Hotel Link (WHL) hosted the country’s first ever Virtual Digital Tourism Workshop on the 28 April 2020. The half day webinar was attended by tourism operators from Tarawa, Abaiang and Kiritimati and was hosted at the Vodafone boardroom in Bairiki. read more

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Officers of the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) continued their clean up and awareness of the WWII Relics at Takoronga Point, just opposite our Betio office on Thursday 23 April 2020.

TAK hopes that residents will continue to do the same thing in keeping our environment clean. This will be a weekly activity and TAK welcomes industry partners and friends to join us at Takoronga.

TAK continuously Keeping WWII Relics at Takoronga Point clean.

Boat Safety, First Aid, Pastry and Tour Guiding training in Maiana

Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in collaboration with the Marine Division, and the Kiribati Red Cross Society undertook tourism operator training in Maiana, on from 20 - 24 April 2020.

The Training was part of the TAK capacity building development program to support the game fishing initiatives, to establish an ecotourism venture on the island… read more

ANZ Kiribati is offering loan repayment deferrals for up to six months for ANZ customers financially affected by Covid-19.

Loan repayment deferrals mean that qualifying customers will not make principal and interest payments on their loans for up to six months, alt-hough interest will continue to be charged to the loan. read more

ANZ Kiribati loan deferrals

Current situation of Covid19 in Kiribati Kiribati is currently on level 2 and has no confirmed cases of COVID19 as of the end of this April 2020 The government urges the public to keep themselves informed of important advisories and adhere to every instruction required of them, and to refrain themselves from spreading misinformation that could stir unrest and anxiety. The government is doing everything to ensure that the people are safe and ready if the virus ever reach our shores.

The Government of Kiribati (GoK) has launched a website dedicated to centralising the dissemination of COVID-19 information. www.covid19.gov.ki The aim of the website is to provide a COVID-19 in-formation hub with up to date, accurate and official information about the pandemic as approved by the Ministry Health and Medical Services (MHMS). read more

GoK launches COVID-19 response website