Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council president Liana Scott has said up to 80 percent of the country's GDP was tied up in tourism and wondered if something needed to change.
"Perhaps our eggs aren't so much in one basket but we need to diversify but in saying that, money has already been spent on the investment, the buildings, the hotels, the motels, the houses are up, you can't just suddenly convert it to agricultural plantations."
In the meantime, business owners are forced to tough it out, most still with a smile on their face.
Source: Radio New Zealand.
The Solomon Islands is also facing hard times arising from the coronavirus pandemic globally and tourism operators at home said to struggling.
Logging once the largest contributor to the national economy is on the decline and tourism was expected to bring a major boost to the government’s coffers, but Covid has put an end to such hopes, at least for some time to come.
My hope is there will soon be infrastructure with road developments to open up the rural areas and agricultural development lead to commercial gains for farmers and the government by way of exports.
If one considers tourism contributes to having too many eggs in one basket then much needs to be done at home by way of agricultural investment and exports because there is still no clear picture when the Covid threat will end world-wide despite the increasing vaccination programmes.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
