Cook Islands Tourism Industry Eager For Travel Bubble, Ready For Visitors

Private sector leaders say businesses are well-positioned to welcome visitors if talks to form a travel bubble between Cook Islands and New Zealand eventually bear fruit.

But they say borders need to open before the Government’s Covid-19 financial assistance runs dry.

Industry stakeholders have been on alert since Sunday when New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed government officials would be travelling to Rarotonga this week to explore whether a safe travel bubble can be formed between the two countries. 

Although borders have been shut for roughly nine months, Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council president Liana Scott said the industry is well-placed to begin welcoming visitors should travel resume.

She said a key to keeping tourism-based businesses up and running has been government’s Covid-19 financial assistance, particularly the wage subsidy.

“To be honest, to continue without the wage subsidy it would have been hard to keep staff on,” Scott said.

“Most properties have kept the majority of their staff which is good. For some places that have closed down completely, it will take them a few days to get up and running.”

But for Private Sector Taskforce chair Fletcher Melvin, the business community will need to see a resumption of visitors before the end of the year. That is when the government’s $320 per worker wage subsidy initiative concludes.

“The subsidies will eventually come to an end and we don’t want to get to a point where the government has run out of money or has to keep borrowing money,” Melvin said. “It’s imperative that borders open.”

“All of the planning is based around getting businesses back up and getting money into the economy from the number one industry.”

To date, a number of repatriation flights have been organised to bring foreign workers to their home countries.

Melvin said while businesses were faced with a tough decision on whether to retain workers or send them home, many opted to keep them on the payroll. As a result, a sufficient amount of the workforce has remained in-country to help the industry get on its feet.

“I think there are enough here, it’s anticipated that it won’t go to full numbers straight away. The staff that we have here should be sufficient,” he said.

“(Businesses) are going to need staff, and staff shortages are always there. If we want to cater to our tourists we will need as many of our staff as possible.”

Liana Scott, who also manages the Muri Beach Club Hotel, said for many businesses, sending staff home would have been a risky proposition.

Scott said it takes roughly three months to bring foreign workers to Rarotonga once contracts have been sorted.

“When you want to hit the ground running, which most of the businesses want to do, we need staff to be here and available,” she said.

(Source: Cook Islands News)