Towards new tourism development strategies in Cook Islands

Tourism has grown considerably in Cook Islands over the last 25 years, and is now the dominant sector in the economy. Visitor numbers have risen from less than 10,000 in 1976 to nearly 73,000 in 2002. While tourism is crucial to leading the future economic growth of Cook Islands, it is a complicated industry that indirectly affects many other sectors of the economy. It is important that clear strategies are formulated and that government (working closely with the private sector) should promote the roles of coordination and facilitation for the future development of the industry. There are five key economic sectors in Cook Islands—tourism, agriculture, marine resources, offshore financial services, and local industry and services. Tourism is clearly the sector of priority, to which the other sectors have various linkages. For example • increasing tourist numbers provide a larger domestic market for local agriculture • increasing tourism provides more opportunities for selling marine resource products (such as high-value fish and pearls) • wider exposure of Cook Islands through an expanding tourism sector assists with marketing the country as an offshore finance centre • increasing tourist numbers contribute to the growth of local industry and services, including import-substitution activities (such as processed foods, beverages, garments, handicrafts, arts and culture including music, as well as a wide range of other supporting services including banking, motor repairs, general retailing, restaurants, and so on). Around half of the Cook Island’s GDP is constituted by estimated tourism sector receipts. Nevertheless, other sectors of the economy (such as agriculture and marine resources totalling 16 per cent, and finance and business services estimated at around 10 per cent of GDP in 2000) are clearly of fundamental importance also, and future growth strategies for the economy should not depend entirely or exclusively on tourism sector earnings and investment.