Tour operators in East New Britain (ENB) province recently underwent a post-mortem meeting last week at the Rabaul Hotel to improve tourism activities in the province. The meeting was organized by the Rabaul Historical Society, PNG Tour Guide and Rabaul Discovery Tours with the support of the East New Britain Tourism Authority and the Rabaul District Administration. The purpose of the meeting was to identify challenges and issues faced in the recent Cruise Ship visit on February 19th 2024 and come up with ways forward on how to improve tour operations. PNG Tour Guide Owner, Dominic Tulo, who spoke at the meeting, commended the tour operators and everyone who took part in ensuring the recent P&O Cruise ship visit was a success. He highlighted that the recent visit outcome was going to determine whether Rabaul port will still be on the cruise ships’ itinerary due to the frequent law and order issues faced in the previous year. “Even though the overall outcome was great there are still some grey areas that must be improved on.” “These include non-compliance of ground or traffic rules by some tour operators, uncontrolled traffic jam on several sites and private tours or individuals charging site fees when it’s already included in the tour package.” Rabaul Hotel Owner, Susie McGrade also suggested that they involve the youths and training them to be certified tour guides, to be well versed with local product knowledge and history and can carry out tours confidently. She said that the youths would need proper trainings and asked if the ENB Tourism Authority and Rabaul District Administration could help with subsidizing fees. Meanwhile, Rabaul Deputy District Administrator Mr. John Matava also attended the post-mortem meeting and said the administration, through its Community Development sector, is preparing to carry out a series of life skills training. “Tour guide courses can also be taught by certified trainers and interested individuals can apply and be assisted for them to be qualified tour guides.” Matava further commended the tour operators, police, business houses, youths and the general public for ensuring an enjoyable and safe visit for tourists visiting Rabaul. “The next cruise ship visit will be on 17th March 2024.”