20th May, 2016, Gold Coast, AUSTRALIA - The South Pacific Tourism Exchange is important to a Swedish buyer because he can update his contacts with existing sellers and also get updates on new campaigns and new products available in the Pacific and to diversify if possible to other destinations in the Pacific.

Lars Jonsson managing director of Tour Pacific based all the way in Sweden said

Jonsson said they were the leading tour operator from Sweden to the South Pacific and the one that is most active in promoting the South Pacific.

“We'll have snow and cold weather maybe six to seven months of the year and the Swedish people are very hardworking and spend most of their time inside, so when they go on holiday they prefer somewhere warm and a nice climate,” Jonsson said.

“Europe has had a financial crisis for a number of years though Sweden has not been affected as much because we have a strong economy and people still travel a lot to destinations like the South Pacific.

“I think the main issue for them before they book a trip to the south pacific is the length of travel as it is on the other side of the world for us.

“We try to tell them that this is the adventure to what you have at home.”

Jonsson said their top seller in the region for the last 15 years has been the Cook Islands, followed by Tahiti and then Fiji coming in at third.

South Pacific Tourism Organisation Acting Chief Executive Alisi Lutu reflected the general consensus to those buyers who continued to attend events like SPTE for the last three years.

“For a person like Jonsson he has to travel thousands of miles to get to a destination like Cook Islands or even the Gold Coast but it is people like Jonsson who actually help to build and shape our tourism industries through their loyalty to the region and their customers,” she said.

About SPTO

Established in 1983 as the Tourism Council of the South Pacific, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is the mandated organisation representing Tourism in the region.

Its 18 Government members are American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the People's Republic of China. In addition to government members, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation enlists a private sector membership base.