POLICY SETTING FOR IMPROVED LINKAGES BETWEEN AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES AND TOURISM: STRENGTHEN THE LOCAL AGRI-FISH FOOD SECTOR AND PROMOTING AGRI-FISH TOURISM IN TONGA

Thursday, August 9th, 2018

The  Minister of Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries, The Honourable Semisi Tauelangi Fakahau opened two days workshop under the theme of “POLICY SETTING FOR IMPROVED LINKAGES FOR AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES AND TOURISM: STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL AGRI-FISH FOOD SECTOR AND PROMOTING AGRI-FISH TOURISM at Tanoa on 7th August 2018.

The Minister highlights the objective of Agri-Fish Tourism  “To Promote Sustainable use of Local Food by tourism industry and development of local products from agri-fish sources for the tourism industry through ensuring that there is an enabling environment supported primary by favorable agriculture tourism policy in the Kingdom”

Tourism has the potential to stimulate demand in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, promote healthy and nutritious food and strengthen the use of local products, so it is important to create linkages between the threes sectors, and to develop a policy on agri-fish tourism.  In addition to the strong economic value of developing a sustainable tourism sector, enhancing the linkages between tourism and agriculture and fisheries represents an important potential mechanism to stimulate and along the chain as well as generate investments incentives for local production.

Linkage between agriculture, fisheries, health and tourism not only potentially increase opportunities for domestic agriculture and fisheries earnings, new markets and product development and therefore sustainable economic growth, but also offer opportunities to help develop visitor attractions and distinctive tourism destination brands through the creative use and marketing of local produce and production techniques, and use of local landscapes.  In order to acquire these benefits, the tourism industry industry needs to be proactive in utilizing  local, high quality healthy and niche agricultural and marine-based products in touristic sites and events.

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