At the request of Papua New Guinea's government, Australia's government is helping (Manus Island), the island of Manus, known for its asylum-seekers detention centre, to develop tourism.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's government is exploring the prospects of tourism development on Manus Island through Abt Associates contractors and providing professional advice. "examine Manus' strengths, weaknesses, drawbacks, and opportunities for development."
The six-month consultancy will cost A $ one hundred and forty five thousand nine hundred and ninety nine, plus subsidies.
The Australian Foreign Ministry said the development of Manus Island tourism was not the idea of Australia's government, but that the local government sought Australia's help in that regard.
At present, there are only two hotels on Manus Island. The guards guarding the dormitory of asylum seekers live in one of the hotels.
Although Manus has become famous for setting up a detention centre for asylum-seekers, Papua New Guinea Tourism Development Director Agoos (Jerry Agus) said they thought Manus could be a legitimate resort. "one of the great attractions in this place is diving, surfing, and there are lots of war relics," he said.
Manus is the largest of the Admilletti islands of (Admiralty Islands), which has many beautiful attractions and has previously had diving and surfing operations.
But Agoos acknowledged that Manus Island, despite its beautiful natural landscape, had no infrastructure for tourism development and had to overcome the negative image of being an asylum-seeker in Australia's overseas detention centre.
There are still about 600 refugees and asylum-seekers on Manus Island. Four asylum seekers died while in custody. Two others contracted a fatal illness and died when they came to Australia for treatment.