13. Developing high-end luxury properties can bring an extra 139,000 high-yield tourists.

For PIC11s,
with limited ability to serve mass markets of the scale emerging globally, it will also be important to
pursue strategies that increase yield. Achieving yield, however, requires properties that meet the
demands of discerning international travelers, with either international standard resorts or specialty
resort products. There is an opportunity to develop 98 rooms in first-tier exclusive resorts, 200 rooms in
second-tier luxury hotels and 700 rooms in third-tier luxury hotels by 2030. In 2040, the economic
potential of the luxury market opportunity is estimated at nearly 139,000 additional tourists, which
bring over US$487 million in total tourism receipts, and generate nearly 32,500 additional jobs.
Additional transformational impact in 2040 Expanding the High-end Resorts Market 139,000tourists
US$487mreceipts 32,500jobs $7.8mairport taxes Source: Author’s estimations v Capturing the Retiree
Market 14. The largely increasing retiree market has the potential of bringing over 300 million dollars to
the PIC11 in 2040. The number of Australians over the age of 65 is projected to increase by 75 percent
over the next 20 years, from 3.3 million in 2012 to 5.8 million in 2032, and post-retirement assets will
grow from around US$300 billion to US$1.3 trillion by 2032. Moreover, the number of New Zealanders
over 65 is expected to double by 2036. The current senior tourism market is disaggregated into three
segments by length of stay: leisure travelers, long-stay travelers and home owners or permanent stay.
For the home owners and permanent-stay segment, long term certainty of residency, access to high
quality medical care, ease of communication, and ease of visa and immigration process are critical
factors. In addition, affordability, safety, ease of international and local connectivity, tax status and
property ownership rights, including disposal on death or departure with repatriation of assets, are also
important to this segment. Based on the experience of other destinations and with appropriate
conditions, it is plausible for the PIC11 to target a total of 5,000 retirees by 2025. The growth is likely to
slow after 2025 and it is reasonable to assume that retirees would only stay for a period of up to ten
years. Growth is likely to continue beyond 2025 and PIC11s could potentially have 10,000 resident
foreign retirees by 2040. These 10,000 retirees could bring US$200 million in receipts and generate
nearly 14,000 jobs. Additional transformational impact in 2040 Capturing the Retiree Market
10,000retirees US$200mreceipts 13,800jobs $0.56mairport taxes Source: Author’s estimations
Capturing the Opportunities for Transformational Growth 15. The Pacific faces challenges which
constrain growth. These include difficulties in access; declining competitiveness with dated facilities;
limited demand, particularly from long haul markets and constrained marketing. This is coupled with a
lack of effective data for decision making. It will be necessary for the Pacific to address these underlying
fundamentals in order to build a stronger platform for growth. 16. Realizing the potential growth of
tourism in the Pacific requires a strategy of improving yields and developing markets. It means being less
dependent on Australia and New Zealand markets. To achieve this requires a four part strategy: •
Improving connectivity with growing and established markets. The first step is improving access to long-
haul markets, which has declined over the last decade as demand from northern hemisphere markets
was constrained by the Global Financial Crisis. It requires direct connections between those markets and
PIC11s, avoiding the hubs of Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Guam. vi • Attracting more and higher
yielding tourists. Overcoming dependence on Australia and New Zealand as the principal markets for
PIC11s will require concerted, long-term market development that emphasizes yield, rather than
volume. • Improving the investment climate and the effectiveness of public sector participation in the
sector. There are a number of issues to be managed in ensuring that PIC11 Governments and regional
agencies are equipped to manage the future demands of a fast growing tourist industry, including the
business enabling environment, the quality of the labor force, the effectiveness of public institutions to
attract visitors, and the capacity of regional destination marketing. • Improving the efficiency of the
tourism sector. This would include improving linkages between tourism and the local economy such as
food supplies and services to hotels, improved destination management and strategy, pooling of private
sector resources such as cold storage and access to warehousing financing for this purpose, and regional
training facilities. The Caribbean tourism strategy now incorporates a number these initiatives designed
to improve efficiency. Fiscal revenues from the sector can also be better managed. 17. In addition to
building a stronger platform for growth, PIC11s need to adopt a series of specific actions in order to
capture the four transformational opportunities.