Western Province (Solomon Islands) - Tourism

Tourism

The provincial capital is Gizo, a town of around 3000. There are airports at Gizo, Munda, Seghe, Viru, Ramata, Gatokae, Ringgi Cove, Barakoma & Balalai.

The Western Province is considered the tourism mecca of the Solomon Islands, and is by far the most accommodating area, with multiple hotels and resorts, dive shops, ecotourism attractions restaurants, and boat tours.

Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during WWII by the US and is listed as an emergency landing runway, capable of handling even jumbo jets.

The diving in the Western Province is pristine as tourists tend to visit nearby Fiji for diving rather than visiting the less developed Solomon Islands. Also, malaria is a concern in the Solomons, which keeps many tourists away. The result is spectacular dive conditions with untouched coral reefs. Munda, Uepi, and Gizo are considered some of the Western Province's best dive locations. The region supports some of the highest coral and fish diversity in the world.

The Western Province and nearby Choiseul Province were significantly affected by 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake, a 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck on April 2, 2007 and an associated tsunami. It caused 100+ significant (in excess of magnitude 4.0) aftershocks. The official death toll was 52 with several thousand persons displaced, most of the displaced are expected to be living in temporary shelters for a minimum of between 6 to 9 months. The island of Ranongga to the west of Gizo was uplifted by around 2.5 – 3 metres resulting in the death of its fringing reef and also opening massive fissures in the island itself. Reefs around Munda and Uepi were largely unaffected by the tsunami and earthquake.

Most of the troubles that affect the country have had minimal impact in the Western Province, which saw no major violence during the revolution.