Cook Islands celebrated the first anniversary of their direct flights from Honolulu, hoping to attract more North American tourists despite a slow start.

The Cook Islands Tourism Corporation last week marked the first anniversary of the direct flight service between Honolulu (HNL) and Rarotonga (RAR), operated by Hawaiian Airlines.

The route provides a connection to the North American market which is among Cook Islands’ top three main source markets behind New Zealand and Australia. It replaced the weekly Los Angeles flights, operated by Air New Zealand, which were scrapped following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In November last year, Cook Islands News reported that the weekly government-subsidised flights were not performing to the level anticipated after Cook Islands Tourism acknowledged that the route got off to a “slow start”.

However, a six-month review earlier this year involving Hawaiian Airlines officials and Cook Islands Government representatives showed that there were steady improvements.

“A review of annual performance is planned for later in the year,” Cook Islands Tourism said in a statement this week.

The route connects Cook Islands with 15 United State gateways flying southbound on a Saturday evening and returning northbound on a Sunday.

The direct service is crucial for enhancing tourism and offering more travel options for North American visitors and with ongoing marketing campaigns planned they aim to strengthen its appeal to North Americans seeking a unique vacation destination, says Tourism. 

Noeline Mateariki, Cook Islands Tourism director of sales and marketing, said they have achieved another important milestone as they continue to work to build back North American business.

She highlighted 52 weeks of airlift had significantly aided USA market recovery with some movement in Canada business.

“The North American Market remains in our top three main source markets after New Zealand and Australia,” Mateariki said.

Christian Mani, general manager of Cook Islands Tourism North America, has seen improved performance and growth aided by partnerships with travel providers like Costco Travel and Gate1 Travel.

“Our direct sales channels have been the main driver for most of our business these past 12 months and this will likely remain the major contributor to sales,” Mani said.

“The opportunity and shift we have seen in recent months have come from our trade partners. We are looking forward to seeing the impact of the travel trade coming online in the next 12 months and beyond.” 

Liana Scott, president of Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council, said: “At the end of the day, it is crucial to the economy that there is a North bound connection, and we would love to see additional flights to make it more attractive for travellers. Already we can see the change in demand with the Sydney flight, so the hope is that increasing weekly frequency will make connectivity more attractive.”

The flight departs Honolulu at 4pm on Saturdays and arrives in Rarotonga at 10.25pm on the same day. The return journey departs 24 hours later, at 11.35pm on Sundays, and arrives in Honolulu at 5.50am on Mondays.