Government should focus on removing unnecessary barriers and costs that hinder further growth of the tourism industry, says the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce.

The comments follow the revelation that tourism’s contribution to the Cook Islands economy is set to exceed half a billion dollars this year.

According to the Cook Islands Visitor Economy Factsheet released last week, an increase in tourist spending to $3181 per trip is forecast to bring approximately $520 million to the local economy by the end of this year. This would represent 73 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Eve Hayden, vice chair of the Chamber of Commerce, said they were not surprised by the forecast.

“It comes as no surprise at the large increase of tourism receipts this past financial year as tourism-related businesses have been experiencing a good amount of growth over the same period, and there is no reason to think this may not continue.”
Hayden said the economy relied almost entirely on tourism and the earnings from this funds the expenditure on the Government’s operational costs in areas such as health, education, police and infrastructure. 

“It is vital, therefore, that the Government focuses on removing unnecessary barriers and costs that hinder further growth, efficiencies, and on-going investment to the private sector,” she said.

“Its priorities should remain in supporting the backbone of the economy i.e. tourism, whilst still exploring and enabling other opportunities for diversification. The support for the private sector should be cross cutting amongst all Government departments and agencies, and any change or introduction of new policies, regulations, and legislation should align accordingly.”

Last year, tourism contributed $428.9m to the local economy accounting for 70.6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Prime Minister Mark Brown earlier said the half-billion-dollar mark was a figure the industry was expected to reach in 2020.

Brown added that while they were “very pleased to now hit that threshold in 2024, it does show that we lost four years of productivity due to Covid”.

He also said the growth in tourism receipts was a direct result of the government support during the Covid-19 close down “where we supported industry to stay alive through our Economic Recovery Strategy including business grants, loan repayment relief, wage subsidy, power subsidy, etc.”

“This enabled industry to hit the ground running when we opened our borders.”