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 busin