Lorna Thornber11:22, Jul 09 2021
RNZ
Tourism businesses in the Cook Islands may be crying out for more New Zealand holidaymakers, but the sentiment is not shared by all.
The chaos caused for many Kiwis as a result of the trans-Tasman bubble pause hasn’t put us off going overseas altogether, with Air New Zealand putting on more flights to Rarotonga to keep up with demand. The airline said it would add 11,000 seats to its Auckland to Rarotonga schedule between August and October as a result of “incredible” demand for flights to the Cook Islands.
RYAN ANDERSON/Stuff
Air New Zealand will put on more flights to Rarotonga from August.
Cook Islands travel bubble: Businesses see uptick but labour shortages remain
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The Cook Islands is booming since the travel bubble opened but challenges remain
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This is a very special day, a very special flight, he said.
Until March 2020, tourism made up more than 70 percent of the Cook Islands economy. And it was surging ahead, with year-on-year record growth.
That growth was flowing to Vili s Burgers - a shack on the road into Muri, where Sione Vili made his self-described best burgers on the island.
But when Covid struck and the borders closed, those visitors withered to zero. You name it, I had heaps of business. A majority of my customers, 80 percent, were tourists. In the end I had to get the wage subsidy, he said.