Personal travel manager (PTM) Katy Hurd, representative from Victoria’s Mount Eliza, recently experienced a seven-day “famil of a lifetime” to Papua New Guinea. The group flew Air Niugini to Port Moresby from Brisbane and was hosted by Papua New Guinea Tourism.
While DFAT’s Smartraveller advice is currently to “exercise a high degree of caution” for travel to Papua New Guinea, Hurd discovered Papua New Guinea is one of those unique destinations where reality can be quite different to preconceived ideas.
“The ‘danger’ factor is definitely the biggest hurdle for the destination. My perception pre-famil was that Papua New Guinea was a dangerous destination and by default the people would be unfriendly and potentially hostile – well I was very wrong about the people being unfriendly! Of course you need to have your wits about you and take caution in Port Moresby as you would in many third world cities and I’m pleased to say I felt incredibly safe at the Tufi Resort located on the tip of Cape Nelson in Oro Province.”
The famil group enjoyed an adventure-packed itinerary and Hurd recommends that clients pack their sense of adventure and they will be rewarded with a uniquely diverse and cultural holiday experience.
“We certainly experienced a journey with a difference! With limited infrastructure, it’s fair to say it’s a challenging destination. What you see is what you get, nothing is contrived for the tourist. Every experience is one hundred percent authentic, which makes the destination so appealing.”
Being able to share her personal famil experiences is proving valuable for Hurd and she wants to return to learn more about the destination.
“I am so inspired and being able to relay my passion and my recent personal experiences of Papua New Guinea to my clients is the best-selling tool I have. Clients like knowing you ate the local food, caught local transport and survived to tell the tale!”
The TravelManagers’ personal travel manager educational program is backed by strong state and national support, which includes a national partnership office with local state based business partnership managers.
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