Summary:

•  The Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on May 8th 2019, at the end of the SPTO Board meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.
• The agreement covers information sharing, coordination and cooperation, and strengthens the links between two sectors (tourism and aviation) that are closely interlinked and vital for economic growth throughout the Pacific.
• Both SPTO and PASO are members of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP), and this agreement further strengthens the regional approach to common opportunities and challenges facing the aviation and tourism sectors in the Pacific.

Following a successful Board Meeting of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) on May 8th, the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the SPTO, to further strengthen the relationship between these two regional organisations.

SPTO is an intergovernmental organisation that markets, promotes, and develops tourism in the South Pacific in overseas markets, and PASO ensures compliance in international aviation safety and security standards in the Pacific. Given the importance of economic growth to the region, the development of tourism in the Pacific Region, and the need for safe and secure air travel, the strategic objectives of these two organisations are closely related.

The MoC signed on 8th May by Mr. Andrew Valentine, General Manager of PASO, and Mr. Christopher Cocker, Chief Executive Officer of SPTO covers information sharing, participation in meetings as well as enables increased cooperation and collaboration on new and emerging projects that have shared interests. Mr. Valentine said, “The opportunity to work closer with SPTO is an important step in our collective efforts to provide more support to our Members' economic growth ambitions. Mr. Cocker responded by saying, “Air access is key to the Pacific Islands for tourism development as well as safe air travel for our visitors is paramount to SPTO and we are delighted to formalize our relationship with PASO”.

 For further information about the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (www.paso.aero) and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (https://southpacificislands.travel/) please refer to their respective websites

Press Contact:   Mattia De Biasi

Project Manager

                                                                                                                        mdebiasi@paso.aero