Cook Islands wants tourism to fit its culture, not the reverse

Cook Islands dancers showcase local traditions. The new plan calls for the people who know their traditional culture to control how they present it for tourists, and to reap the benefits – Image: Cook Islands Tourism/David Kirkland

The Cook Islands is growing tourism on its own terms. This tropical destination is one of a growing group of Pacific islands that want tourism to fit its culture, not the reverse. In creating the Cook Islands Destination Stewardship Plan, the country chose a strikingly suitable strategy.

With just over 17,000 residents welcoming 187,018 visitors in 2025, and tourism the dominant force in the economy, the country is asking a deliberate question: What kind of growth serves its people, its culture, and its future?

Part of the answer is structural. The visitor economy is overwhelmingly islander-owned. Family-run accommodation, boutique properties, and local operators make up most of the sector, keeping visitor’s dollars circulating in the domestic economy and the visitor experience personal.

That ownership pattern is what makes the national vision achievable. “Our overarching aspiration is that tourism benefits our people above all else,” Karla Eggelton, CEO of the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, told the Los Angeles Times in July.

The other part of the answer is a plan for keeping it that way.

Cook Islands: A hand-stitched treasure as a theory of change

The Cook Islands Destination Stewardship Plan 2026–2030, adopted by the Cook Islands Cabinet in December 2025 and launched in 2026, organises stewardship around four dimensions: Culture, Economy, Environment, and Community, supported through enabling systems. Its real signature is how those dimensions are held together and coordinated. The plan draws on the concept of the Tivaevae (or Tivaivai), the hand-stitched quilt that is among the most treasured gifts a Cook Islands family can give.

The Tivaevae is a metaphor for communicating the joint efforts required across the islands to drive positive change through tourism. It is a cherished tradition of unity, anchored in collaboration, enriched through the sharing of knowledge, and expressed with care and patience. Each quilt tells a story of the Cook Islands people, their land, and their values.

Created especially for the Destination Stewardship Plan, the Tivaevae expresses its theory of change: four distinct dimensions, stitched together, anchored by the people at the centre. Tivaevae designed by Raniera Ellison, Akairo Creative. Reproduced with permission.

The Cook Islands Destination Stewardship Plan was inspired by the same spirit. Just as a Tivaevae is created collectively, with many hands contributing to one shared design, destination stewardship relies on everyone working together towards a common vision.

“Our planning team learned the power of the Tivaevae approach in consultation rooms across Rarotonga, Aitutaki, and Atiu. Intervention logic and outcome frameworks give a plan its rigour, whereas communities talk about their future through stories and shared symbols,”said Dr. David Ermen, a destination stewardship strategist and lead consultant on the Cook Islands Destination Stewardship Plan 2026–2030.

“The moment we began explaining the plan through the Tivaevae, a very technical document became approachable. Stakeholders and the public could see themselves in it, because everyone already understood how a quilt is made.”

Where the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) comes in

The stewardship process is built on a strong technical foundation. The GSTC Cook Islands Destination Assessment, completed in 2025, provided baseline benchmarking against the GSTC Destination Criteria and identified the specific areas requiring intervention. Those findings directly informed the plan’s design.

Regional alignment reinforces this architecture. The Cook Islands’ commitment to the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework and the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Standards, developed by the Pacific Tourism Organisation – themselves aligned with the GSTC standards – gives the plan a Pacific-contextualised baseline to build on. This is global credibility stitched to local meaning.

The 15 major Cook Islands are spread over 2 million square kilometers of ocean. Map by US Congressional Research Service

What does culture stewardship commit to?

Consultations were candid about the pressures. Heavy reliance on migrant workers, without consistent cultural orientation, means visitors are occasionally greeted with a Fijian “Bula!” rather than the local “Kia Orana.” Fake artifacts and unauthorised use of traditional designs circulate, a problem now compounded by AI reproduction. The Traditional Knowledge Act (2013) provides a legal framework yet remains difficult to enforce.

The plan identifies an increased risk of the Cook Islands traditional language, Te Reo Māori, becoming an endangered tongue within a generation. The plan’s answer is to keep culture and tourism woven together, with knowledge holders controlling the sharing and capturing the benefit.

Stitching in the whole government 

Implementation now moves ahead with an all-of-government approach, whereby a Destination Stewardship Advisory Group chaired by the tourism minister provides strategic oversight. A Project Management Unit coordinates delivery and provides technical support. For each area of stewardship, a person serving as a Wellbeing Lead  provides expert input and helps to coordinate relevant stakeholders.

One Foot Island (Tapuaetai), on the Aitutaki lagoon. The Cook Islands form a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand – Image: Cook Islands Tourism/Daniel Fisher

The Cook Islands Tourism Corporation engages stakeholders, including industry and communities. Island councils, traditional leaders and the private sector each hold a role in the implementation. Like the quilt, the design holds because every panel is sewn in.

“We are no longer just promoting a destination, we are protecting a way of life. This plan is a collective approach across our islands, with tourism as the driver: Cook Islands Tourism bringing industry to the table, standing alongside our communities, every ministry, every island council, and our traditional leaders. Our job is to lead this change so that stewardship delivers for every Cook Islander.”—Karla Eggelton, CEO, Cook Islands Tourism Corporation

Rooted in the values of Mana Tiaki, the duty of guardianship that preserves these islands for future generations, the plan builds on the “Love our Little Paradise” brand platform to invite visitors to share in that care. Kia Orana, “may you live long,” is how Cook Islanders greet the world. Our Paradise, Our Promise is how they intend tourism to return the blessing.

For more details, please see the Cook Islands Destination Stewardship Plan 2026–2030.

NAN/CITC 28-08-26

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