Tourism development and prospects highlighted in Niue Tourism Forum

A summary of Niue’s Tourism performance over the last year alongside Niue’s great prospects and high level goals have been highlighted in the Niue Tourism forum.

Niue Tourism’s Chief Executive Officer Felicity Bollen summarized the top highlights for Niue’s tourism over the last year being Trevor the Duck – a stand out star with additional excellent exposure via the Ukulele and Kai Niue Festivals and new assets the Taoga Building and the Swanson’s Supermarket.

In a packed crowd on Monday night, 6 presentations were delivered by Niue Tourism’s Chief Executive Officer Felicity Bollen, Niue’s Chamber of Commerce Business Development Manager Rae Finlay, NZ Tourism Research Institute’s Carolyn Deucher, Alistair Henchman from Tourism Recreation Conservation and now considered locals to Niue – Gendie and Ryan Somerville for the Niue Dark Sky Sanctuary Project.

Each representative spoke of findings from more recent research conducted here in Niue with potential prospects and high level goals to developing Niue’s tourism.

Alistair Henchman for one highlighted that a third flight into Niue would not be feasible.

Gendie and Richard Ryan-Somerville were excited to announce once again the prospect of Niue becoming the first dark sky sanctuary country in the world with astro tours increasing globally.

Carolyn Deucher explained how Niue is really leading in trying to gather as much insight as a baseline to developing Niue’s tourism, not only from the visitor experience but also from the locals experience.

The cultural experience is fundamental to the visitor experience.  One stand out of the surveys over 2 years was the lack of cultural experiences including the availability and accessibility of cultural artefacts or handcrafts for purchase.  

With the previous Niue Tourism forums it was identified that certainly with concerted efforts there was substantial potential in this sector for growth.