TRAINING FOR MT GILUWE TOUR OPERATORS

PNGTPA helps train locals of Mt. Giluwe' to help build their tourism capacity.

By Maureen Wei

Mt Giluwe, one of the highlands tourist’s hot spots, sleeps proudly among the clouds as the second largest mountain in Papua New Guinea, after Mt. Wilhem. Rising at about 4,367 meters (14, 327 ft) above sea level and is amongst the five largest mountain peaks in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The mountain’s ethereal yet rugged slopes cast a splendor of empyrean views that can only be appreciated in person when on the summit. Lovers of nature can appreciate the mountain’s vast alpine grasslands that houses different species of flora and fauna. The mountain is also a utopia for bird watchers, as it is home to the famous bird of paradise, ribbon tailed Astrapia, Stephanie’s Astrapia and other species of birds found only in this particular part of PNG.

Customarily, the locals settling near and at the base of Mt. Giluwe have a rich culture and unique traditions that tie them to the land and environment, making them experts and local tour guides. Because of the local’s deep connection to the mountain, and area surrounding it, the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority have launched a tourism capacity building project for local tour guides of Mt. Giluwe in Mt. Hagen.

The project is to build and train the locals in tourism capacity building within the corridors of Mt Giluwe. It was delivered in collaboration with Tambul District Administration, PNGTPA, Western Highlands Province Commerce and Tourism Division and No Roads Expeditions.

There were five basic hospitality and tourism skills that were taught; General tourism awareness, guest house development, tour guides, basic cooking and first aid.

This project trained employees of two tour operators: Mt Giluwe Tako Tours and Trekking of Tambul from Western Highlands Province, and Samera Cooperative Society (Mt Giluwe Eco Tourism Project) from Southern Highlands Province.

Tako Tours was recently incorporated to run in Mt. Giluwe. It’s a company owned by locals from the Tambul Nebilyer District in Western Highlands Province. They provide the services of accommodation and local trekking guides to tourists and visitors. It was formed purposely to develop a track from their village to the summit and also to provide other tourism-based ventures such as village home-stays. Their projects are still underway. Samera Cooperative Society incorporated communal effort from the Semera People to tap into tourism, fisheries and other opportunities. They have so far built a trekking route, developed a couple of campsites and recently developed trout farm. Plans of building eco -lodges and register 10 hectares of rainforest as local wildlife management to protect endangered flora and fauna species are still underway.

Apart from Mt Giluwe Tako Tours and Trekking of Tambul and Samera Cooperative Society (Mt Giluwe Eco tourism Project) from Southern Highlands Province (SHP), there are a couple of other tour operators that provide guest house and eco- lodges from both Provinces which visitors can experience. They are Country Tours Ltd, Paiya Tours Ltd, New Guineas Tours expedition, Pacific Peace