3 Nov 2008

Vanautau looks north to increase tourist numbers

11:46 am on 3 November 2008

The Vanuatu Trade Minister, James Bule, says the country is aiming to more than treble the annual number of tourists visiting the country.

The industry is presently a booming part of the economy, contributing the bulk of foreign earnings.

Mr Bule says there are just shy of 100 thousand visitors a year and he wants this to reach 300 thousand by 2050.

He says to achieve this the industry is diversifying from its main source markets of New Zealand and Australia, with an office already established in Europe.

"We looking at more tourists coming that way. We are looking at China an we are looking at Japan. So it's not just looking at Australia and New Zealand, traditional tourism markets, but diversifying to other markets as well."