MCT plans tourism business loan guarantee scheme
BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO
PERMANENET secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Andrew Nihopara |
THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism
has discussed the need to establish a Tourism Business Loan Guarantee scheme
that would be made available to all tourism and tourism-related businesses.
This was revealed to this paper by Andrew
Nihopara, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
“Another plan that is current under
discussion is the need to establish a Tourism Business Loan Guarantee Scheme
that would be available to all tourism and tourism-related businesses.
“This will include the existing
businesses that required to be upgraded under the Minimum Standards that are
currently being rolled out,” he said.
Nihopara said the idea behind such
approach is to ensure that tourism growth adopts a much more commercial
approach that is government grant dependent.
“Hence, the incentive packages and
the loan guarantee scheme are normal business offerings and undertakings
that any serious tourism business operator will be willing to adopt and utilise.”
Nihopara said the mechanism likely
to be used for the implementation of this scheme is the proposed revival of the
Development Bank of Solomon Islands, but they look forward to holding
discussions with the commercial banks as well in this regards.
He adds, the guarantee scheme that
is current administered is jointly between Central Bank and the Ministry of
Commerce and is being explored to see how it be made more attractive and more
robust.
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