PLAN O PROYECTO DE MEDIACIÓN POLICIAL

This chapter presents a review of the development of the Cook Islands tourism i n d u st ry . I m p o rt a n t i s s u e s that are c o n s i d e re d h e re are t h e role of govern ment, tourism d evelopment plans and strategies, visitor arrivals and marketi n g , air service , t h e Cook Islands accom modation i ndustry , tourism employment, and tou rism education and trai ning.

A Tourism and the Role of G overnment

Tou rism is now t h e m o st im po rtant sector i n t h e Cook Islands e conomy, surpassing agricultural p roduction, with earnings of $27.2 miilion in 1 987. The second biggest i ndustry i n the Cook Islands is offshore banking with revenues to the Cook Islands of over $1 . 1 4 mi llion in 1 987.

T o u ri sm i s , h o we v e r , a relatively yo u n g i n d u st ry . U nt i l t h e 1 9 7 0 s , transportation to t h e islands was by sea o n ly a n d was slow and u nreliable. Ocean cruises were the o nly form of tou rism, with cruise ships anchoring off Rarotonga. The harbou r and port facilities were inadequate for larg e ships to berth in the harbour. Cook Islands cultural g roups and business people wou ld travel by small boat to m e et the cruise ships offshore and entertai n and trade with tourists for 4 to 5 hours, once a month . Although the tourists did not go ashore , i ncome from these short visits still made a sig nifi cant contribution to the economy.

lt was n ot u nti l the· Raroto nga I nternational Ai rport (fi nanced and built by the New Zealand governme nt) was opened in 1 974 that the Cook Islands began to seriously d evelop tourism. The first and only m ajor i nte rn ati o n al standard _ hotel, the Rarotongan was opened i n 1 977. The o riginal s hare ho lding in the

Resort was split three ways with Air New Zealand owni ng o n e third , the Cook Islands G ov e r n m e nt owning o ne t h i rd , and the N ew Zealand Gove rn m e nt (through the Tourist H otel Corporation or THC) owning one third.

The THC also operated the hotel for the first ten years. By 1 980, both Air New Zealand and THC had sold their shares to the Cook Islands Governme nt, who sold one third. to several tour operators -- three wholesalers fro m New Zealand and one from California.

The pattern of touri sm development in the Cook Islands indicate s that most tou ri st acco m m odati o n and activiti e s a re fo u nd on Raroto n g a , with some deve l o p m e nt i n Aitutaki , and l i m ited d eve l o p m e nt on Ati u , M auke and Mangaia. There is no accommodatio n development in the Northern G roup, no scheduled air service , and transportation is i nadequate for tou ri sts. However, Governm ent has adopted a policy of wider distribution of tourism development and benefits to the islands beyond Rarotonga.

The C o o k I s l a n d s G ov e rn m e nt h a s take n a n acti v e ro l e i n t o u r i s m development since th e 1 970s. The g overnment initiated t h e deve lopment of the tou rist i ndustry i n the Cook Islands with the passi ng of the Tourist Authority Act in 1 968 (amended i n 1 976 and 1 989). The mai n objective i s "to e ncourage the development of and ad minister the tourist industry". · This Act established the Cook Islands Tou rist Authority (CITA} , which is administered by the Tourist Authority Board, whose members are appoi nted by the Ministe r of Tourism.

The functions of CITA (as· amended by the Tou rist Authority Amendment Act of 1 989) are :

To promote and e ncou rage the tourist i ndustry i n the Cook Islands and to promote and i ncrease tou rist and other traffic from overseas and within the Cook Islands;

To p r o m ote t h e e stab l i s h m e nt o f h o t e l s a n d a l l o t h e r forms of accom modatio n for tou rist and public purposes;

To provide services and amenities for tou ri sts and t h e pu b lic and to promote such service and amenities;

-· To reg ulate and control the use and developme nt of scenic attractions and recreational facilities i n the Cook Islands;

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· To hold such i nquiri es and gather such i nformation as will enable it to

determi ne the requireme nts of tourists and public as to the provision of services of all kinds and other amenities on pre mises licensed pursuant to this Act;

To con duct e nquiries into any matters at the request or with the approval of the M i nister and to make recommendations to the Minister i n respect thereof (Cook Islands Government, 1 968).

T h e o ri g i n a l A ct i n cl u d e d l i ce n s i n g , re g u l at i o n a n d contro l of h otels, accommodation pre mises , restaurants and tourist and p ublic accom modation of all ki nds , but t h i s fu n ction was removed by t h e 1 9 89 A m e n d ment. A

se parate G e n e ral Lice n s i ng Autho rity i s bei n g estab l i s h e d to d eal with lice nsi ng of p re m i s e s and d eve lopment of standards for acco m modation, restaurants, and transportation.

The Second Development Plan (1 988-1 992) of the Cook Islands Government sum marises tourism developme nt objectives in the following policy statement:

Tou ri s m s h a H conti n u e to be developed at a mode rate rate a n d i n kee p i n g with th e o bj ectives of contro lled and balanced t o u ri s m , to o pti m i s e t h e l ocal e c o n o mic ben efits and e n s u re its wi d e sp re ad distributio n within the society and among the islands, while also e nsuring the conservation of the natural environment and enhancing it. The Cook Islands' culture and traditions will be maintai ned and reinfo rced (Cook Islands Government, 1 988, p.33).

The objectives of tourism development during this period are :

to . ach i ev e a n a n n u al g rowth rate of between 1 0 to 1 5 per cent per

annu m ;

t o expand tou rist faci lities i n line with t h e g rowth in visitor arrivals and changes i n tou rist p references;

to maxi m i s e local partici pation i n the tourist industry as a m eans of spreading the benefits of tourism ;

to mi ni mise the leakages to imports from i ncome derived from the tourist industry, by sti mu lati ng the i nvolveme nt of Cook Islande rs in produci ng import substitutes ;

to maintain and i mprove ou r physical and cu ltural envi ro n m e nt through the restoration of historical sites and beautification programmes;

to participate i n joi nt regional efforts to promote tourism; and