Honiara late 1990s had a devastating impact on the economy due to the fact that virtually all tourist organisations around the world specifically warned tourists wishing to visit the islands to stay away, especially in 2002 and 2003 at the peak of the troubles. In 1998, the country earned around $13 million from tourism and just $629,000 in 1999, equating to an average spend per visit of only US$254 (about US$35/day). In 1999, tourism in the city and nation accounted for just 4.38% of the total GDP. As the capital of Solomon Islands, Honiara contains the majority of the major government
Capital city prime economic, cultural, or intellectual centres of a nation or an empire are sometimes referred to as primate cities. Examples are Athens, Bangkok, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Cairo, London, Mexico City, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo. News media will often use the name of a capital city as an alternative name for the country of which it is the capital or of the government that is seated there, as a form of metonymy. For example, "relations between Washington and London" refer to "relations between the United States and the United Kingdom". The word "capital" derives from the Latin "caput" (genitive "capitis"),