A socio-demographic profile of visitors to the South Pacific outer islands of Vanuatu

Abstract

[Abstract]: The research reported in this paper sought to develop a socio-demographic profile of Australian visitors to the outer islands in the Pacific, specifically Vanuatu and the outer islands of Espiritu Santo and Tangoa. Vanuatu forms part of the Melanesian region, which comprises Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Fiji. Tourism has been developed in each of these countries. However, there is a great disparity in the amount of tourism to each country and the dollar value that the tourist represents. At the time of writing, there is unrest in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji has recently undergone considerable devastation and hardship due to recent flooding and political unrest, hence a decline in tourism visitor numbers. Following the lead of other successful South Pacific Nations, Vanuatu has emphasised tourism as a means of economic development and a source of foreign exchange.