When you cast your bread on

Cook Islands’ waters

New Zealand is the biggest beneficiary, next to the Cook Is lands, from the Cook Islands tourist industry. This is fair enough con sidering the money NZ has poured into the group for many years.

Air New Zealand, which is owned by the NZ Government, is financing the Rarotongan Hotel, along with the Tourist Hotel Corporation of NZ and the Cook Islands Govern ment. Air NZ is also a part-owner of Cook Island Airways, the group’s internal airline.

Air NZ enjoys a monopoly on ser vices to the Cook Islands, one of which passes through Nadi and American Samoa. Another carries on to Papeete. So Air NZ gets all the air traffic, both ways, some of which originates in NZ, some channelled through NZ, from Australia and places to the west, some in Fiji and American Samoa and some in Tahiti. A service between Rarotonga and Honolulu will open in June.

The bigger the tourist industry grows, the better it will be for Air NZ as long as it can hold its monopoly. Now operating three ser vices a week into or through Rarotonga, it can, if it uses its DCIO aircraft, land more than 900 tourists a week in the group. The Cook Is lands does not have sufficient ac commodation to handle crowds of that magnitude, which is probably just as well, for they will not remain much longer the “last unspoilt dis covery, in the tourist sense, in the South Pacific”.

But tourism is badly needed in the Cook Islands to help its ailing econ omy. Now that the cannery has clos ed there is little else, except for the export of copra, fruit and vegetables to NZ, to earn overseas exchange.

Experience elsewhere in the South Pacific, particularly in the boom years of the 1960 s and early 19705, pointed to the value of tourism in national economies which were lit tle above subsistence level, although many people would be inclined to query the value of its effect on local people and cultures.

The Cook Islands, in relation to tourism, have not always been de-

pendent on its jet air links with NZ and other Island groups. For eight years it picked up a few tourists from the Air NZ (then TEAL) Sunderland flying-boat which operated a service from Laucala Bay, Fiji, to Papeete, via Satapuala in Western Samoa, and Aitutaki.

And every three weeks since late

in 1956, regular visitors on southl bound voyages round the Pacific from San Francisco and Los Angeles, have been, and still are, the luxury ships Mariposa and the Mon terey. In addition, the Cook Islands have played host to passenger liners from many countries carrying holidaymakers on Pacific cruises.

Enjoying a monopoly... Air New Zealand makes another landing at Rarotonga. - Photo: Ned Avary