BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
AMERICANS, Germans and other European nationals, and Caribbean tourists set foot in Honiara for the first time when cruise liner Crystal Serenity docked at Pt Cruz yesterday morning.
Yesterday’s heavy downpour did not dampen the visitors’ spirits as they explored the sites around Honiara and scouted out the various souvenirs on sale.
Many also share that the arts and craft found here are unique and very different from ones they have across other countries during their voyage.
The artefacts on display yesterday ranged from wooden carvings, necklaces, bracelets and cloths designed in traditional ways to woven baskets.
Tourists accompanying the Destination Solomons were also impressed to see the WWII sites, country’s cultural artefacts and histories including the city tours. Few hit the jackpot in their snorkeling tour.
According to Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau, most visitors on the Crystal Serenity are in their fifties.
SIVB Senior Marketing Officer, Mr Ellison Kyere said Crystal Serenity comes from the United States, UK, Caribbean and Germany, and this was their first time here.
He said many were eager to learn of the Solomon Islands’ history and culture.
The tourists share that before they came, they had brief knowledge of the Solomon Islands as being the islands ‘adrift in time’, being a tropical paradise with tropical rainforests and rugged mountains and hills, and host to some of the bloodiest sites of the World War II.