Honiara (Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands)

Honiara is a port city in Oceania and the capital of Solomon Islands, It is located on Guadalcanal Island's northwestern coast. The city has population around 65,000 and is served by the seaport Point Cruz and the Honiara International Airport.

Solomon Islands consist of 6 large and over 900 smaller isles (total land area of 28400 km2 / 11000 mi2) located in Oceania (southwest Pacific Ocean). Papua New Guinea is to the west, and Vanuatu is to the southeast. Honiara's Airport (to the east) was the site of a battle between the USA and Japan during the Guadalcanal Campaign of WW2 (1939-1945). The Battle of Henderson Field was in 1942 and won by the USA.

In 1952, after the city became the British Solomon Islands' new capital, it started to develop and grow in population. Since the late 1990s, it has suffered a turbulent history of political unrest, ethnic violence and rioting. Although a peace agreement was made in 2000, street violence ensued in March 2002 when two New Zealand diplomats and numerous others were murdered. In July 2003, Australian police and military units moved into the country to restore order. Riots broke out in 2006, following the prime minister's election. The riots devastated the city and destoyed part of its Chinatown district. Tourism was affected severely.

Honiara contains most of the Solomons' government buildings and institutions. Here are located the country's College of Higher Education, University, International School, The National Parliament, the National Museum.

On October 2, 2016, P&O Australia's ship Pacific Eden made its maiden visit to Solomon Islands, leaving from homeport Cairns Queensland as part of an 11-days round-trip itinerary to Papua New Guinea (Alotau, Kitava, Rabaul) and Solomon Islands (Gizo, Honiara). The ship's visit included the P&O's maiden call to Ghizo Island (port Gizo, on September 30, 2016) and the inaugural call to Guadalcanal Island (port Honiara, on October 1). In 2016, both companies P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises (subsidiaries of Carnival Corp, under the management of Carnival Australia) had all 6 calls to Solomon Islands, which was a 3-fold increase over 2015.

The cruise tourism industry contributes around USD 0,64 million to Solomon Islands' economy each year (total impact).

Honiara cruise terminal