By: Christopher Crowby, Welcome Ashore Vanuatu Ambassador

If you’ve ever welcomed visitors to Vanuatu, you’ll know there’s something special about seeing people experience our islands for the first time.

Through my business, PaRuKi Transfer and Tour Adventures, I’ve spent years helping visitors discover the best of Vanuatu. I was lucky enough to be born here and have spent my life working to show the world just what Vanuatu has to offer. Whether it’s a cruise passenger stepping ashore in Port Vila, a family exploring our culture, or travellers tasting local products and meeting local people, I have the fantastic privilege of seeing every day how tourism creates opportunities for our communities.

That’s why I’m proud to join Welcome Ashore Vanuatu as a Welcome Ashore Ambassador.

Tourism is a hugely important part of our economy, but for me it’s always been about the people and the latest visitor research reflects what many of us already know. More than 90% of visitors say they would recommend Vanuatu to others and 80% say they want to come back. They remember our culture, our natural beauty and, most importantly, the warmth of the Ni-Vanuatu people. 

As an Agriculture Councillor with the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce, I also see the potential to strengthen the links between tourism, local producers and community businesses. The more visitors connect with authentic local experiences, the more benefits stay within our communities which is something I’m certain all of us want.

That’s one of the reasons I believe so strongly in Welcome Ashore.

Welcome Ashore gives local people a platform to share their experiences and explain what tourism means for their families, businesses and communities.

As Ambassador, I want to help bring more of those voices into the conversation.

If you’re a market vendor, tour guide, farmer, transport operator, craft producer, community leader or simply someone whose life has been touched by tourism, I encourage you to get involved. You can go to our website and join or share your story. Let people know how tourism is helping your community and what you want the future of tourism in Vanuatu to look like.

The strongest voice for Vanuatu will always be the voice of its people.

I’m excited to work with Welcome Ashore to help tell those stories, celebrate the positive impact cruise tourism can bring, and ensure local communities remain at the heart of the conversation.

Tankiu tumas, and welcome ashore.