June 21, 2004
The Pacific Islands
My wife and I have been considering a trip to Guam. It's closer to Korea than Hawaii and much much cheaper. However, a student who has been to Guam recently warned me that there was nothing to do. She may be wrong; she may be right, but I do know that many of the pacific islands need tourists to escape chronic poverty.
Air Nauru, which has been on the skids for more than a year, is due to re-launch a low-cost service connecting Australia and Nauru with the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands next month. Richard Branson's budget carrier Pacific Blue will start flights from Australia to Fiji and Vanuatu in September, and has plans to further extend its service to the Cook Islands.
The problem here is that each tiny island has its own national carrier. The budget carriers may mean more tourists, but they also threaten the 20 or so tiny national airlines. Australia is puching countries to stop supporting their national carriers, but no one seems interested...
Posted by James Trotta at June 21, 2004 10:54 PM
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