7 Jul 2011

Businesses in Kiribati benefit from increase in visitors

10:37 am on 7 July 2011

A travel agency in Kiribati says many local businesses are benefitting from an increase in visitors, particularly from the United States.

The Kiribati National Tourism Office has reported a 36 percent growth for the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year.

26 percent of the visitors were from the United States.

A manager at Kiribati Holidays, Veronica Karea, says they've noticed more tourists, who are attracted to the atoll's issue with climate change and rising sea levels.

She says many other visitors are interested in other growing tourist attractions as well.

"We've seen a big increase in tourists and travellers for whom we arrange holidays in Kiribati and most of them are after the cultural and war tour and in the north islands there's fishing, mostly fishermen go there."

Kiribati Holidays manager, Veronica Karea.