Total visitor arrivals for December Quarter 2009 (25,419) decreased by 18.3%
when compared to the previous quarter (31,114) but increased by 3.7% when compared
to the same quarter in 2008.
Most of the visitor arrivals for this quarter were from New Zealand with 57.7%
(14,663) of the total visitor arrivals, followed by Australia with 20.4% (5,191)
and Europe with 11.8% (3,002).
People arriving for vacation purposes contributed 76.9% of the total visitor
arrivals and 16.3% came to visit their friends or relatives, while 6.9% persons visited
the Cook Islands for other reasons.
Of the 25,419 visitors, 61.3% (15,572) were accommodated in hotels and motels,
while 22.4% (5,688) 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 December quarter 2009 was 52.8%, a decrease of
0.6 points when compared to the previous quarter. Bed occupancy for this quarter was 49.4%,
a decrease of 0.6 points when compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 3.1 points
when compared to December quarter 2008.
