An Industry in Crisis: How Vanuatu’s Tourism Sector Is Seeking Economic Recovery

Abstract

Although Vanuatu experienced no domestic COVID-19 cases in 2020, preventive border closures resulted in the sudden downturn of Vanuatu’s tourism industry, and the closure of many tourism-oriented businesses. Employment experienced a parallel downturn, in both the formal and informal sectors, despite creative efforts at gaining employment. This necessitated a rapid policy shift by the Government directed towards domestic tourism with some limited success. Longer term redevelopment of tourism focused on COVID-safe business readiness and an emergent theme of greater public-private coalition-building to accelerate national economic recovery efforts, including through a reimagining of the industry to cope with the ‘new normal’.