Frequently Asked Questions

This section of our website is dedicated to answering some commonly asked questions that you may have.

 

The following links are simply links to FAQ's on this page to save you having to scroll:

 

 

Alternately, you can download a PDF with the Frequently asked questions detailed on this page.

 

CLICK HERE if you want to open up the FAQ PDF

 

NOTE: You may need a PDF reader to view the FAQ PDF. CLICK HERE if you want to download Acrobat Reader 6.0

What is village tourism?

Some visitors come to Papua New Guinea to experience what typical village life is like – this called village tourism.

 

Village tourism is a small but growing part of the tourism industry in Papua New Guinea.

 

Many village people are now aware of what tourists want to experience in the village and have learned to better prepare themselves to accommodate the needs of tourists.

 

The Community-Based Tourism Foundation (CBTF) has recently been established to assist Papua New Guineans find out how to set up and operate village tourism businesses successfully.

 

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What are the benefits of village tourism?

Many tourists that come to Papua New Guinea specifically for a 'village-life' experience want to see the natural environment and culture in good condition – just like taim bipo (traditional times).

 

Hence, the primary benefit of village tourism is that it encourages village communities to conserve their surrounding environment and culture.

 

This often motivates the young people to learn more about their traditional customs, traditions and dances so they can earn money performing for the tourists. This is particularly important today because most young people seem to not have much interest in 'village ways'.

 

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What kind of village tourism can I run?

First, identify the attractions of your village area.

 

 

 

The questions to ask yourself are:

  • What are the main things that will attract tourists to your village? Birds? Caves? Waterfalls? Untouched forest? Interesting local customs? Pretty scenery? Carvings and artifacts?
  • Then, decide the best way to bring tourists to see these attractions.
  • If your village is close to town, it might be easier to let tourists sleep in town and just bring them to your village for day trips.
  • If your village is remote, you will have to provide accommodation.
  • If there are many things to see in your district, plan a 3-day hike from village to village so that the visitors can see everything and enjoy walking at the same time.

 

 

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What kind of things can I build for tourists?

  • Village gust house
  • Village home stay
  • Nature lodge
  • Picnic area
  • Diving or snorkeling or surfing areas with haus wins

 

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What type of entertainment can I provide for tourists?

  • Singsing (traditional dancing)
  • Drama / theatre about village traditions
  • Demonstrate village customs (cooking, gardening, house making, bung, wedding, funerals, courtship, initiations, making tools, extracting salt, carving artifacts, tumbuna stories)

 

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What activities can I provide for tourists?

  • Village day trips
  • Hiking around your village area
  • Hiking from village to village (trekking)
  • River rafting
  • Bird watching
  • Guided nature trail
  • Visit historical sites and tabu sites
  • Fishing from a canoe - explore

 

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What are some spin-off businesses (for your neighbors) ?

  • Dinghy hire
  • Truck hire
  • Selling artifacts and handcrafts
  • Selling artifacts and handcrafts
  • Selling food to tourist or to your guest house
  • Charging site fees for tourists to visit their special places
  • Singsing and entertainment groups

 

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How can I set up my village tourism operation?

Structure

A village tourism venture can be set up as either:

  • A community-owned business or
  • A private business owned by one person or a family.

 

The advantage of a community-owned business is that everyone in the village is involved and no-one will object to the development.

 

A disadvantage is that many people will be expecting some money from the business and there may not be enough profit to share around, especially in the early stages.

 

People may become discouraged and lose interest if they do not receive money quickly, and then the business may fall apart due to lack of support.

 

The advantage of a privately owned village tourism business is that it is quick and easy to set up because less people are involved and only one person makes the decisions.

 

There is usually enough money earned from the business to support one family.

 

The disadvantage is that relatives or neighbors may become jealous when they see you earning money from your village tourism business, and they may try to stop you, or they may charge you money for bringing tourists into the village.

 

However, there are ways of dealing with this problem.

 

You can easily start a privately run village tourism business if:

  • You live in your home village (you can’t run a village tourism business if you live in the town)
  • You have land that you can use for village tourism
  • You have natural or cultural attractions in your area that tourists will want to come and see
  • You have permission from your clan or neighbors
  • Your plan your village tourism business well

Finance

You don’t need money to start a village tourism business.

 

You can start by using bush materials and things that you already own, such as using your family home as a home stay.

 

Later, when you earn some money from tourists you can start to spend money on improvements.

 

Most successful village tourism businesses have started up this way, without a loan or handouts.

 

From our experience, most community-owned tourism ventures that have been given start-up funds by a politician or donor, have often failed.

 

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What kind of tourists will come to my village?

Tourists interested in staying in a village are generally known as eco-tourists or cultural tourists.

 

They know that accommodation and meals in your village will not be of a high standard like hotels.

 

 

They know that they will bath in the river and toilet in a hole in the ground.

 

They know they might be bitten by mosquitoes and other insects in the village.

 

They know they might have to walk a long distance from the main road to the village.

 

Despite these hardships, they are keen to come to your village because they are very interested in your culture and environment and way of life.

 

Many eco-tourists have already visited rural areas in other countries around the world and they know that village life is no luxury.

 

Some eco-tourists say that PNG is the “last frontier” meaning that is more difficult to get to (far away from Europe and America) and they usually visit Africa, Asia and South America before finally coming to PNG.

 

Tourists who come to your village may be backpackers or pre-paid tourists.

 

Back-packers find their own way around the country, paying as they go. They will hear about your village tourism guest house or attraction from somewhere, and they will just turn up and ask to stay.

 

You should have ready a price list for accommodation and activities that you can show them when they arrive, and they can choose what they would like to do and pay you on the spot.

 

Pre-paid tourists make their bookings and payment in advance through a travel agent or tour operator and the tour operator contacts you to make the arrangements before the tourist comes.

 

Usually the tour operator will give your a few weeks notice to prepare. The tour operator will pay you for the tourist’s accommodation and activities, so you will not ask for cash from the tourist.

 

Sometimes the tour operator will pay you in advance, sometimes pay after the tourist has left you, and sometimes pay half in advance and half later.

 

In general, you will earn more money from pre-paid tourists if you make a good business deal with a tour operator to bring tourists to your village regularly.

 

If you provide a good service, the tour operator will trust you and give your plenty of bookings.

 

This way, you won’t have to spend money on advertising because all your tourists will come through the tour operator.

 

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What is CBTF?

The overall goal of the Community-Based Tourism Foundation (CBTF) is to work in co-operation with the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority and tourism industry stakeholders to support the development of sustainable community-based tourism as an income generating activity for Papua New Guineans living in rural areas.

Objectives

The primary objectives of the CBTF is to:

  • Provide technical advisory services to individuals and groups wishing to develop village guest houses and other tourism facilities and services in rural area
  • Monitor and improve quality standards in the community-based sector by providing training and development programs for operators.
  • Conduct promotional campaigns, encouraging tourists to visit rural areas of PNG and patronise tourists facilities and services in village areas.
  • Facilitate the formation of associations of local tourism operations in each province.
  • Facilitate the establishment of community-owned tourism ventures and providing an information and referral service for overseas travel agents and travelers wishing to patronise community-based tourism facilities in Papua New Guinea.

How can CBTF help me?

The Community-Based Tourism Foundation (CBTF) helps village people get involved in tourism by:

  • running training courses
  • providing information and advice
  • making site visits (coming to your village)
  • helping you make a business plan
  • helping you market your business to tourists and tour operators

We will publish information pamphlets and produce video training programmes about village tourism.

 

We can provide sample business plans that you can follow to design your village tourism operation.

 

 

We promote village tourism to tour operators overseas and we have plans to accept bookings for village guest houses through this website.

 

We however do not provide funding for individual village tourism businesses.

 

For any enquiries about our operations please contact us at the address below:

 

Community-Based Tourism Foundation

Of Papua New Guinea Inc.

The Executive Officer

PO Box 531

GORDONS

National Capital District

Papua New Guinea

 

Phone: (675) 323 5644 / 323 4518

Fax: (675) 323 4518

Email: cbtf@online.net.pg

 

 

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