Talking times with Kerryn Cook > Attracting more visitors from Australia
Kerryn Cook is employed by Cook Islands Tourism Corporation as its General Manager for the Australian

Times: Kerryn could you explain your role within the organization.
Kerryn: My title is the General Manager for the Australia market for Cook Islands Tourism. I am a full-time employee of CITC, reporting to Karla Eggelton and Halatua Fua based in Raro.
My role is to promote the Cook Islands in the Australian market. The role has a four-pronged approach. As regards the Trade, it’s about giving them the tools they need to sell the destination with confidence such as training, newsletters, incentives, roadshows, collateral and famils, working with major wholesalers on joint campaigns to ensure that Cooks is top of mind. For the Consumer, it’s about peeling back the layers and removing the old perceptions to showcase the Cooks to a market that is really ready for a new and unique destination and all that the Cooks has to offer. Building awareness of the Cooks, and moving from awareness to preference in a very cluttered market place filled with travel deals. As regards the main carrier, Air New Zealand, it’s about working on joint initiatives to promote the direct flight and ensure that we have maximum travellers on the direct flight. In relation to the Cook Islands Community, it’s about engaging with the strong local community and ensuring they feel connected to home, to the flight and have special access to fare sales and hotel deals.
All of this is underpinned by a strategic plan including a visiting journalist programme.
Times: Tell us about your research on the Australia market. When did you start and is it on Australia as a whole, or selected cities/states?
Kerryn: In May 2011, I started the first research into Australian travellers, and it has pretty much continued throughout my time here. Information is power and the credit is due to our trade and industry partners who are sharing commercially sensitive information with me in order that we can better understand our target audience, our non-customers (those choosing Fiji over the Cooks even though they are looking for a new experience for example) and potential travellers. Most all of the research is Australia as a whole.
Times: What have been your major findings?
Kerryn: The Australian economy is booming, and truly does lead the world right now in terms of growth.
It is expected to outperform all comers from developed world for at least the next two years;
Australia’s unemployment will remain low at 5.2% for 2012 and 2013;
The Australian economy will expand by 3% this year; and
Consumer spending grew by 3 1/2% over 2011, supported by income growth.
There has been a dramatic increase in population. Tourism NZ advised that in January of this year they had over 40,000 Kiwi’s moving to Australia. The immigration population is expanding rapidly. This shows that there is just a never ending market to promote the Cook Islands to.
Australia is driving the way with outbound travel figures increasing steadily versus domestic nights on the decrease dramatically.
52% of Australian tourists are aged between 35-64yrs (significant growth of 4% with the holidaying 50-64 year olds) fits in perfectly with our target audience.
The month of January continues to lead in seasonality for trips and had an 8% YOY growth, December the next highest travel month, then fairly even percentage of people travel year-round, with February and May being the lowest months for travel for Australians outbound. This is good news for the Cooks, because it means Australians travel year round and will travel to the Cooks over the low season.
There are huge forecasts expected for all outbound destinations from Australia, so if we consistently market and have continuity with our presence, we will also see increases
Times: What is the next step, where to from here? What do we have to do or change?
Kerryn: The next step is the same step as when I started a year ago, continuity but combining that with a never dark strategy. If we have a two week national campaign, when that is finished, we will have online advertising and trade ads, then an 8 page spread in Gourmet Traveler. Never dark means that we will consistently have messaging out about the Cooks in the Australia market. My 2012/13 strategy highlights our target audience of 2.29 million people in Australia that have a propensity to travel to a tropical island destination in the next 12 months, have travelled 3 plus days domestically or internationally in the last 12 months and are in the 25-54 or more age group. From here we know what papers they read, what sites they visit, when they are online, what TV shows they are watching and how to reach them when they are ‘in the mind’ for travel.
The support from the industry and the trade has been overwhelming and so support wise, we are there. We just need to ensure that each and every Australian (and all travellers) enjoys their time in the Cooks, is overwhelmed by their accommodations and truly appreciates the value for money that their precious vacation dollars bought them. Then we will get our own brand advocates talking about the Cooks and opening more doors than any dollars spent on advertising ever could.
Times: Were you able to find a way to attract more Australians to the Cooks during the low tourist season?
Kerryn: Australians travel year round, our issue is not getting them to travel, it’s getting them to choose the Cooks in a very cluttered environment. With low cost Asian carriers and the travel sections full of deals, we have to have a place to talk about the Cooks that isn’t cluttered with our competitors. My plan to run television and cinema commercials will open us up to a wider audience of over 8 million Australians who will view our tactical offers. We cannot be about price, but we do need to be about value. After meeting with all of my trade partners and the industry in the Cooks, I will be launching a low season strategy to give people the ‘hook’ that will help them choose the Cooks over their tried and tested destinations (like Fiji, Thailand and even Hawaii). While we won’t call it a low season strategy, it certainly will provide a reason for Australians to book during Nov-May.
The Australian market is buzzing, we have so much going on, and there is so much interest in the Cooks. I’m grateful and humbled by the support I’ve received and I thank each and every one of you for entrusting me with this position. I don’t take it lightly and I know what the Australian market can do for the economy and for the nation.
Times: Meitaki maata Kerryn.

Headlines : Times 290 02 March 2009
- Lucky $1,000 winner
- Century old palm trees and the French connection
- Koutu Nui takes part in Raui meeting in Moorea
- WOM Award Dinner for Ake Hosea-Winterflood
- Island of Atiu to host Koutu Nui AGM in June 2009