Crafts Centre lacks marketing strategy

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By JENNIFER KUSAPA

MARKETING and selling of products is one of the challenges faced by vendors at the Solomon Islands Craft Centre.

John Fadama, a local vendor, said while he appreciates the government providing a Craft Centre, but he said the vendors face challenges in terms of selling their products due to no support from the responsible authorities.

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He said the Government should provide ways for vendors to sell their products as every vendor is renting the rooms from the government.

“This week I sold nothing and I have to find other ways to sell my products,” Fadama told a group of journalist this week.

“Lucky I have friends from other Pacific countries like Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji and they always sent their orders for my products,” he added.

“I will be leaving for PNG at the end of the month taking my products to my customers.”

Fadama also said that other Pacific countries want Solomon products because they are of good quality, thus the demand is high in the outside market.

And this is where the Ministry of Tourism or Tourism Solomon should step in and help vendors to promote and sell their products to the outside market, Fadama said.

Meanwhile, Curator at the National Art Gallery Brian Afia said that the idea of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is for the Artist to value their products and not just for making money as a means of survival.

“We also try to establish links from other Galleries outside where we can have space for our products to sell,” Afia said.

He added in terms of marketing the vendors when they come in they have to have a business licence and also they must affiliate with the Artist Association.

But when they secure a room to sell their products they have their own strategies on how they will sell their products, Afia said.

This article was produced from the “Economics of Tourism” training for journalists in Honiara funded by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) in partnership with Strongim Bisnis.

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