A series of advanced online workshops to boost Pacific tourism operators' digital skills in order to help them endure the COVID-19 downturn has been launched by Pacific Trade Invest (P.T.I) Australia. 

The workshops are free of charge and are available to anyone in the tourism sector across the Pacific region. 

P.T.I is the region's leading trade and investment promotion agency. 

Its stated aim is to elevate the digital capacity of Pacific tourism operators in order to drive local economic development across the sector. 

The workshops seek to ensure that all tourism operators are in the best position during the global COVID-19 economic crisis when international borders reopen. 

According to a media release, P.T.I Australia Tourism and Investment Project officer, Onorina Fugawai said it was important to provide operators with practical steps to enhance their digital presence, especially as the world starts to plan post-pandemic holiday destinations. 

"With the onset of COVID-19 and the global tourism sector on effective ‘pause’ for the time being, we are focussed on equipping tourism operators in the Pacific region with world-class skills, technology and marketing tactics in preparation of borders re-opening," the statement said. 

"This series was designed off the back of wonderful feedback from our Introductory series participants, where they indicated there was an eagerness to continue gaining advanced digital marketing skills and knowledge." 

The first online workshop was a 90-minute session which hosted participants from all across the Pacific region, including the  Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Federated States of Micronesia.

 Participants noted the workshop had helped to demystify concepts such as “search engine optimisation” for tourism businesses. 

A participant from the Federated States of Micronesia, who is the sales and marketing officer of Chuuk Visitors Bureau, Nely Mori commented on the session and what she had learned. 

"The presentation was great, and I found it really helpful specifically because of the tools that he shared. It helped me familiarise with the terms and the key concepts of online marketing. I did really learn a lot and I am keeping the presentation for further use later on," Ms. Mori said 

The next session is scheduled for Wednesday, 21 October and will cover the skill of developing content marketing.

Founded in 1979, P.T.I. is an agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and funded by the Australian Government.

The workshop is to be hosted by Katie Smith, a marketing and customer experience expert from the Counterpoint agency who has two decades of digital marketing experience.