Transcript
CALVIN RHODES: It gives the option for the cruise operators to bring slightly bigger boats into Santo and have the facilities to not only tie but the actual new wharf facilities are very user friendly in meeting and greeting tourists off the boat. Basically the various tourism operators, the associations and the local mamas markets are all sitting right there where the boat is when as people get off. So it becomes a very user friendly and very island experience as soon as they step off the boat, rather than walking through a container depot to get back actually into Luganville itself.
DON WISEMAN: There will be islands all over the Pacific who are very envious suddenly.
CR: I am sure there are actually, I am very, very sure they are because Vanuatu itself will become a destination that will be on the cruise ship itineraries, because the facilities here are second to none in the South Pacific.
DW: The money was provided as a soft loan from China I understand. Who repays it?
CR: The Vanuatu Government will have to repay it eventually and being a soft loan I am not sure what those details will entail. That is something that as a tourism association we are not privy to.
DW: Is it exclusively about getting more and bigger cruise ships or other there other purposes?
CR: No, no it is also the customs wharf so it is actually designed for imports and exports coming into Santo. So it is there, when a cruise ship is not in, it's there for a container ship, cargo ships for copra, kava, cacao and anything that actually leaves the island. It gives the opportunity that you can tie up two cargo ships at any one time. So getting in and out there is no waiting for the cargo liners, and the facility is there to both load and unload at the same time - it makes it a far more user friendly port that can accommodate more cargo ships going in and hopefully more going out.
DW: More cruise ships and bigger cruise ships. So you are going to get those people coming in, they are just day visitors but in terms of the wider tourism experience on Espiritu Santo, is that growing?
CR: Absolutely. Yes Santo is growing very, very well at the moment. Santo has not got a huge tourism industry compared to Port Vila which is a port of call for most people who are looking at Vanuatu - we are still quite unknown as a hidden gem of Vanuatu. The wharf itself will help the long-term visitors as well, because I think there is a good percentage of around 3 or 4% cruise passengers that look at day trips to cruise ship destinations and then book another holiday to fly into any of the islands that they have visited. So the wharf facility is something good for tourism in general, which is very important to the tourism association and the local operators.
