A report from the Asian Development Bank says tourist arrivals in the Cook Islands have grown by an average of 8 per cent over the past two years.
A senior economist for the bank, Christopher Edmonds, says the growth is due to the continuing strength of outbound tourism from New Zealand and Australia, as well as an increase in the number of visitors from East Asia.
However, he says occupancy rates on Rarotonga are virtually one hundred per cent in peak months, and growth could be constrained in the future if the country does not expand its facilities and infrastructure.
"Tourism does seem to be holding up robust, even in the face of a fairly lacklustre global economic recovery. We do see that perhaps some capacity constraints in terms of its ability to host more tourists at peak seasons of visitorship. So that's an issue that authorities need to think about."
Chris Edmonds from the Asian Development Bank.
