TOURISM BOOST
Cook Islands, Samoa gain 20% from Fiji coup, says NZ Herald

COOK ISLANDS is enjoying about a 20% increase in New Zealand visitor bookings following the Fiji coup, the New Zealand Herald quotes travel agents as saying.
Samoa is getting a similar increase, the newspaper said.
And a prominent tourism academic predicts Cook Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu could get increased tourism investment in the years ahead because of the instability in Fiji.
The Herald said Samoa especially is promoting itself in New Zealand as a safe and stable tourist destination in the wake of the Fiji coup and recent Tongan riot.
Samoa Tourism Authority has put out a release to New Zealand travel agents and the public saying it is “proud” to remind everyone of its socio-political stability.
Sala Pio, the authority’s marketing manager, told the Herald it was necessary to remind tourists that Samoa was a safe destination compared with some of the other countries in the region.
“People lump us together, especially those who do not know much about the Pacific region ... We have to do something.”
Pio said there had been some criticism of the campaign, including allegations of cashing in on the misfortunes of Fiji.
COMMENT
The Fiji Visitors Bureau declined to comment on the Samoan strategy.
Dr Simon Milne, professor of tourism at AUT University, told the New Zealand Herald investors will be reconsidering plans in light of the current instability.
At a certain point investors will start looking at Samoa, Vanuatu, or Cook Islands offering a similar kind of experience with much greater political stability, he said.
Investors with completed hotels or building work in progress are unlikely to pull out, he said, but the critical issue is the people who were planning developments over the next couple of years.
The tourism sector in Fiji had bounced back after the three previous coups, but “that’s all gone,” said Dr Milne.
It took until 2003 for them to recover from 2000 and for Fiji to resume its rank as the second most popular destination for New Zealanders.
Boom times since then saw visitor numbers from New Zealand soar to 109,000 last year, accounting for about 20 per cent of Fiji’s tourism trade.

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