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Solomon Islands wins bid to host 2026 tourism meeting, a major boost for the country’s economy and tourism sector.
The Solomon Islands will host the 2026 Council of Tourism Ministers’ Meeting following a successful bid by Minister of Culture and Tourism Choylin Yim Douglas, who is attending the 2025 meeting in Tonga this week.
The event is expected to provide significant economic benefits for the Solomon Islands, with delegations from more than 20 Pacific Island nations and international observers anticipated to attend.
Minister Yim Douglas, accompanied by senior officials from Tourism Solomons, also used the event to highlight the challenges the Solomon Islands continues to face in aviation and regional connectivity, particularly in relation to the Air Services Agreement (ASA) with Fiji.
She emphasised the need for Solomon Islands to align its efforts with the SPTO Tourism Aviation Strategy 2023–2026, recently endorsed at the SPTO Board Meeting, which she said had influenced the country’s efforts to expand services on the Fiji–Solomon Islands route.
Her comments were well received by Fijian representatives, who expressed willingness to collaborate with Solomon Islands and other member countries to further develop aviation connectivity across the Pacific.
The Council of Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, organised by the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) in partnership with the Government of Tonga, is positioned as a week of collaboration and dialogue. The program brings together tourism ministers, senior officials, youth advocates, and development partners from across the Pacific.
The week began with the SPTO Board of Directors Meeting and the Pacific Youth Forum on Sustainable Tourism, attended by two Solomon Islanders — Zaza Gina of the Western Province Tourism Office and Cerdick Williams of Easterner Travel and Tours in Temotu Province.
This was followed by the 3rd Pacific Sustainable Tourism Leadership Summit, which focused on strengthening the region’s tourism leadership and sustainability goals.
Attention also turned to the growing opportunities within the international cruise sector, which was the focus of the 3rd Cruise Tourism Forum. Co-facilitated by the SPTO, the South Pacific Cruise Alliance (SPCA), and Tonga’s Ministry of Tourism, the forum discussed ways to strengthen cruise tourism and its contribution to Pacific economies.
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism
