Monday, November 13, 2017
The Cook Islands environmental organization explains that the growth in tourism on the main island of Rarotonga is not sustainable at present.
Kelvin Passfield, the director of the Te Ipukarea Society explained that the organization was in no way anti-tourism. However, it supported the stance of MP Sel Napa who has requested the government to slow down the growth of the tourism sector in order to safeguard the island from the effect of its abnormal intensification.
The current infrastructure of Rarotanga, as explained by Mr. Passfield is not in a position to cope with the huge rise in tourism.
His group is interested on low density accommodation, with residents making their houses offered for short term rent purposes.
“It’s usually one house on a quarter acre of land. It’s not 50 units squeezed onto a half acre of beachfront property, so the impact of their septic systems and their laundry on the environment is much less and it much more spread out. So the environment should be able to handle a less densely populated tourism area.”
