Total visitor arrivals for March Quarter 2010 (18,279) decreased by 28.1%
when compared to the previous quarter (25,419) and it decreased by 4.2% when
compared to the same quarter in 2009 (19,080).
Most of the visitor arrivals for this quarter were from New Zealand with
51.0% (9,327) followed by Europe with 19.3% (3,529) and Australia with 16.7% (3,044).
People arriving for vacation purposes contributed 80.9% of the total visitor
arrivals and 9.0% came to visit their friends or relatives, while 10.1% persons
visited the Cook Islands for other reasons.
Of the 18,279 visitors, 69.6% (12,714) were accommodated in hotels and motels,
while 14.6% (2,667) stayed in private accommodation. Those persons who reside in
private accommodations are generally visiting Cook Islanders who normally reside
overseas and also other visitors who find it convenient to rent private houses.
Overall room occupancy rate for the March quarter 2010 was 44.8%, a decrease of 8.0 points
when compared to the previous quarter. Bed occupancy for this quarter was 40.0%, a decrease of
9.4 points when compared to the previous quarter and a further decrease of 1.0 points when compared to
March quarter 2009.
