By Ezekiel Talatau
SOLOMON Islands handicraft sellers benefit a lot with their marketing through the tourism industry for years. And it is well known that this has picked up more and more, recently.
A Ms Rose Sasali said that she is privileged to be a handicrafts seller, saying that the returns she gets from the business is encouraging, so much so that she looks forward to each sale day.
This in turn depends on tourist visits, such as the one yesterday.
She said when a tourist boat docks at the Point Cruz wharf, all handicraft sellers see it as another profitable day.
These special days see more earnings compared to normal days, when sellers display their handicrafts for passers-by in Honiara.
Sasali says while she enjoys the money earned from the trade, another aspect she is proud of is the promoting of Solomon Islands abroad, through the souvenirs that the tourists buy and take back with them to their countries.
However, on the flip side, Sasali mentioned that handicraft sellers see that an area in which authorities could improve on is the marketing strategies.
“If the ministry of tourism can provide online marketing for advertisement, this could be more efficient for the handicrafts business staffs product to increase the marketing strategies within the pacific region.”
Currently, about 10 tents outside the art gallery are selling their handicrafts, waiting for the new art gallery building to be completed in a few months before they can move in properly to sell their products.
