Determinants of Small Pacific Island Tourism: A Vanuatu Study

Abstract

The research reported in this paper sought to identify the key determinants of small island tourism in the Pacific region. In order to investigate this research problem, 185 Australian tourists were surveyed as they returned from holidaying in Vanuatu. The sample included those who had visited outer islands such as Espiritu Santo as well as those who had not ventured beyond the main island. Findings indicated that the most important influences on the decision to visit the outer islands were the climate and the reputation as a holiday destination. When rating Vanuatu as a holiday, both those who went to an outer island and those who did not rated the three main reasons as friendliness, range of restaurants and quality of accommodation, whereas the principal reasons given for not visiting an outer island were: that the outer islands were too expensive to access; most tourists wanted a “stay put” holiday; and they did not have enough time on their holiday. From the findings of this research on the determinants of small Pacific island tourism, it is suggested that further research into the applicability of these determinants be conducted in other small island environments in other regions of the world.