Learning, Connecting and Sharing the Cook Islands in China
The Cook Islands returned as part of SPTO’s Pacific delegation for the 2025 China International Travel Mart, a standout year marked by the inaugural Sustainable Tourism Seminar for Pacific Island Countries.
On behalf of Te Mato Manava Turoto (Cook Islands Tourism), Te’Aumata Rairi, Aitutaki Tourism Coordinator, travelled to China in December 2025 as part of a Pacific-wide delegation coordinated by the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO).
The programme included the 2025 Sustainable Tourism Development Training for Pacific Island Countries, a first-ever programme of its kind for the Pacific, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China.
Meitaki Atupaka to the Central Academy of Cultural and Tourism Administration (CACTA) in Beijing, for facilitating all theoretical learning from 12-17 December.
The week-long training focused on sustainable tourism development and cultural integration, with expert-led sessions exploring ecotourism pathways, heritage management, and practical approaches to embedding culture into tourism experiences.
Learning also extended beyond the classroom through visits to major heritage sites and tourism commerce areas, offering practical insight into visitor management, conservation at scale, and how culture and tourism intersect in real-world settings.
SPTO’s coordination of the delegation enabled meaningful collaboration and shared learning for the Pacific Island Countries, which was invaluable given the similarities our nations share in environmental, cultural, and community-based tourism contexts.
The Pacific Delegation then went on to participate in 2025's China International Travel Mart (CITM) from 17-19 December in Haikou, Hainan Province.
As China’s largest travel trade exhibition, the event provided opportunities to connect with airlines, travel trade partners, digital platforms, and tourism stakeholders, while showcasing the Cook Islands alongside fellow Pacific destinations under a unified regional presence.
Attendance by one of CIT's outer-island coordinators highlighted the role our Pa Enua teams play across both destination development and destination marketing within the corporation, towards the progression of tourism within their respective islands.
Together, these learning and industry engagements strengthened both technical capability, and destination knowledge for the Chinese Market, which will collectively progress our destination's global visibility, on-ground expertise, and regional opportunities for collaboration.
