December 10, 2021
Cooks bracing for manuhiri return
It’s less than a week before the Cook Islands reopens to travellers from New Zealand, and a long time resident says that comes with a mix of hope and apprehension.
Derek Fox says about 95 percent of the 12 and over population of Rarotonga and surrounding islands are double vaccinated, but children are still awaiting their shots.
People travelling from Aotearoa will need to be double vaccinated and tested before leaving.
He says tourism, which accounts for up to 80 percent of the islands’ economy, went to zero, and reviving it will involve finding replacements for some of the thousand or so migrant workers who left during the pandemic.
“Some of them, particularly the Filipinos, have gone to New Zealand to work on dairy farms so New Zealand has benefited twice but this – they’re short on workers so they are getting workers but those workers have come from businesses here,” Mr Fox says.
He expects the first planes will be filled by Cook Islanders returning for the Christmas holidays.