Marine Resources and Tourism strengthen partnership

By
Cook Islands Tourism
Photography By
Cook Islands Tourism

A new partnership between the Ministry of Marine Resources and Cook Islands Tourism

A new partnership between the Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) and Cook Islands Tourism is set to preserve and enhance our lagoon and marine space.

Having signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding last week, the two organisations are looking forward to strengthening an ongoing collaboration on areas of mutual interest.

Joint projects in the works will see staff from both MMR and Cook Islands Tourism cooperating on ways to support the Muri Lagoon Ecological restoration, strengthening communication efforts and improving the tourism industry standards where it relates to the tourism marine operators.

“Tourism research has shown that the lagoon and water activities are one of the most appealing aspects of our destination, however the ongoing issues in Muri have impacted the satisfaction levels of visitor’s experiences,” said Ms Sieni Tiraa, Sustainable Tourism Manager, at Cook Islands Tourism.

“This partnership will help to address these areas of concern for both agencies and contribute to enhancing the experience of locals and visitors alike,” Tiraa added.

Head of Ministry, Pamela Maru agrees, “strategic partnerships like this means we are able to integrate our respective expertise to produce better outcomes for our stakeholders,” she said.

“The intersection between tourism and marine resources, and shared areas of interest has increased over time, and so we are excited to be broadening our collaboration to achieve shared goals and objectives.”

Signing one of the first official agreements in her new role as CEO, Ms Karla Eggelton describes their new MOU with MMR as “a stepping stone of many to strengthen our relationships with key stakeholders for a multi-sectoral tourism industry. Our joint future is shared sustainability and now is the time to embrace and lead this direction, especially in the wake of the ongoing impacts of COVID.”