Stopping traffic in Times Square

It’s not often you get a Huli Wigman and an Asaro Mudman running loose in one of the world’s most popular locations – the Times Square in New York.

But that’s exactly what happened last week when Tourism Promotion Authority staff Oberia Ataku (wigman) and Kaleno Basina (mudman) adorned themselves in their traditional Papua New Guinea bilas and strutted their stuff along the crowded sidewalks and under the bright neon lights of Times Square.

American based internet news service Absolute Travel said in its latest edition: “It’s not easy to stand out in New York City but last week, our buddies from Papua New Guinea literally stopped traffic”.

The Wigman and Mudman also had wide-eyed revelers starring in awe as they strolled through SoHo’s swanky streets.  

Ataku and Basina were promoting PNG in New York and the North American market as part of a media and trade seminar organised by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority’s United States office.