trepidation

Niue thinks - with trepidation

Niue Island is taking its first uncertain steps towards international tourism with a campaign marked, perhaps paradoxically, by opti mism and limited development goals, writes Graeme Kennedy who visited this remote self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand.

Uncertain because many government leaders have spoken openly of their fears that a sudden surge of big

spending foreigners would

have too great an impact on the islanders’ delicate social fab ric.

Many of the 3500 Niueans living on this 260 square kilo metre coral island, to the east of Tonga, have also voiced op

position to tourism develop

ment plans, but the

Government Secretary Terry

Chapman disagrees.

Referring to Niue’s almost

total financial dependence on

New Zealand and the need for Niueans themselves to gener ate more overseas currency to :ut the horrific trade mbalance. Chapman says: Economically, we are in an emergency situation a situ ation which calls for emerg mcy measures. Of course we nust control tourism, but we nust have it.’

Planning Officer Ron Lay

on: ‘Last year, we had only 350 ourists about one a day. Our

imited development goal is to

ncrease that figure to 10 a day.

Ve feel the impact of that lumber would be very small ilthough it is a big increase on vhat we had last year.’

Tourist Minister Frank Lui:

in our efforts to attract over seas income from tourism, we must always remember how small we are. We do not want to happen here what has

already happened on some

other South Pacific islands which opened their doors wide to tourism. That is why we have adopted a policy of limited development. We must control tourism here.’

Mr Lui points out that the government-owned Niue Hotel provides the controls the administration wants. A mod ern building atop the cliffs, about 3 km south of Alofi, the hotel has only 40 beds in 20 rooms and these are often

booked by visiting foreign

government officials, aid rep resentatives and sales representatives from Australia and New Zealand.

The government has en gaged a major Auckland adver tising agency, Leo Burnett-Catts Patterson Ltd to handle the initial tourist pro motion in New Zealand and Australia and is working

closely with Polynesian Air

lines in making the island known throughout the US.

Polynesian which operates five weekly flights into Niue’s Hanan International Airport from Apia, Tonga and Raro-

tonga is plugging Niue with its other destinations through its new US general sales agents.

Continental Airlines.

And, to complete the pre tourism plans, the island has been included in the airline’s

five-destination ‘Polynesian

Triangle’ fare package.

So the stage is set for those extra 10 tourists a day or is it? The island’s natural phenomena are unique in the

Pacific and striking enough

alone to warrant a visit from the most jaded traveller.

The vast sea-caves like Avaiki and Palaha on the west coast are as stunningly beauti ful as Talava, near Hikutavake in the north, is savagely arrest

ing.

But, like most of Niue’s caves, caverns and subter ranean pools, access is limited to the young and fit not the more elderly tourists the

government obviously prefers.

Only an experienced rock

climber or a madman would attempt to reach the bottom of Vaikona a breath-taking

underground cavern and pool

or the palmy, balmy oasis at the bottom of the great chasm in the Togo ‘moonscape’. (I reached both and I know

nothing of rock-climbing.)

The administration has ten

tatively suggested plans for vil lages near such obvious tourist delights to provide access paths and steps as community pro jects but, so far, only Hiku tavake has responded with an easy track down to Matapa, a soaring tidal chasm reputedly the bathing place of the ancient Niuean kings.

Even access to the teeming reefs, including the famous Coral Gardens, is difficult although they can be reached at several points below the cliffs which ring the inland.

Although Niue has a fine nine-hole golf course, tennis courts and rainforest walks, transport for the tourist is a major problem. In a chicken and-egg situation, Alofi tour ism promoters say more rental cars and perhaps a tourist bus will be introduced if visitors respond to the promotion cam

paign.

Meanwhile, a new fishing boat went into the water last month and will be available for big-game charters for the swordfish, Spanish mackerel and tuna which are regularly caught off the reef.

Premier Robert Rex is among those who support the tourism effort and, like most Niueans, he is all too aware of the warnings: ‘Go slowly never forget how small we are.’

Talava sea cave on Niue ... savagely arresting