Client: Cook Islands Tourism Corporation

Authors: David Norman and Kel Sanderson

Date: November 2009

This project estimated the likely economic benefit to the Cook Islands of a proposed new seasonal air route between Sydney and Rarotonga. The report presents a range of scenarios, with load factors ranging between 65 percent and 85 percent, and flights a year between 12 and 16.

The additional visitors on these flights could spend up to $5.5 million extra in the Cook Island economy each year, generating up to $2.3 million in GDP, or around 0.8 percent of Cook Island GDP. At 85 percent load factors and 16 flights a year, the route would add 76 permanent FTEs to the economy, or 1.3 percent of all employment.

BERL job#: 4826