IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i3p1123-d1580373.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Negotiating Wellbeing and Tourism: A Reorientation Process in the Cook Islands

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne Becken

    (Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia)

  • Sieni Tiraa

    (Te Puna Vai Marama, Rarotonga P.O. Box 130, Cook Islands)

  • Sera Vada

    (Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia)

Abstract

Tourism growth in the Cook Islands is broadly supported by residents, but evidence of social and environmental harm is mounting. This study examines the role that tourism plays in the dynamic processes of disorientation and reorientation related to tourism development in three islands: Rarotonga, Aitutaki, and Mitiaro. A total of 102 interviews were conducted at a critical juncture where Cook Islanders reflected on the pre-COVID-19 tourism boom and the subsequent shock of border closures. The findings highlight the undeniable economic dominance of tourism and opportunities for individual livelihoods. However, residents expressed that these must not come at the cost of other types of wellbeing, especially in tourism-heavy Rarotonga. A reorientation towards greater connectedness with culture, each other, and local environments was seen as essential. Cook Islanders expressed a need to take control of tourism in ways that are community-driven, balanced across economic/financial, physical, social, spiritual, and mental wellbeing, and in harmony with local carrying capacities.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Becken & Sieni Tiraa & Sera Vada, 2025. "Negotiating Wellbeing and Tourism: A Reorientation Process in the Cook Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1123-:d:1580373
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1123/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1123/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Durie, M. H., 1985. "A Maori perspective of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 483-486, January.
    2. Larry Dwyer, 2023. "Tourism Degrowth: Painful but Necessary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    3. Justin Cramb & Victor D. Thompson, 2022. "Dynamic Sustainability, Resource Management, and Collective Action on Two Atolls in the Remote Pacific," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-31, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anett Skorpen Tarberg & Bodil J. Landstad & Torstein Hole & Morten Thronæs & Marit Kvangarsnes, 2020. "Nurses’ experiences of compassionate care in the palliative pathway," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(23-24), pages 4818-4826, December.
    2. Fu, Mengzhu & Exeter, Daniel J. & Anderson, Anneka, 2015. "“So, is that your ‘relative’ or mine?” A political-ecological critique of census-based area deprivation indices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 27-36.
    3. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan & Glenn Albrecht & Dianne E. Campbell & Julian Crane & Ashlee Cunsolo & John W. Holloway & Anita L. Kozyrskyj & Christopher A. Lowry & John Penders & Nicole Redvers &, 2018. "The Canmore Declaration: Statement of Principles for Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Thom, Rowan Ropata Macgregor & Grimes, Arthur, 2022. "Land loss and the intergenerational transmission of wellbeing: The experience of iwi in Aotearoa New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    5. Kylie Mason & Kirstin Lindberg & Carolin Haenfling & Allan Schori & Helene Marsters & Deborah Read & Barry Borman, 2021. "Social Vulnerability Indicators for Flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-31, April.
    6. Michelle J. LeFebvre & Jon M. Erlandson & Scott M. Fitzpatrick, 2022. "Archaeology as Sustainability Science: Perspectives from Ancient Island Societies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Larry Dwyer, 2024. "‘Measuring What Matters’: Resident Well-Being and the Tourism Policy Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Bruno Marques & Claire Freeman & Lyn Carter, 2021. "Adapting Traditional Healing Values and Beliefs into Therapeutic Cultural Environments for Health and Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Bruno Marques & Claire Freeman & Lyn Carter & Maibritt Pedersen Zari, 2021. "Conceptualising Therapeutic Environments through Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Landscape for Health and Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-22, August.
    10. Amalia Rosmadi & Wuzhong Zhou & Yuanyuan Xu, 2024. "Meaningful Gamification in Ecotourism: A Study on Fostering Awareness for Positive Ecotourism Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-28, September.
    11. Jackie Robinson & Tess Moeke‐Maxell & Jenny Parr & Julia Slark & Stella Black & Lisa Williams & Merryn Gott, 2020. "Optimising compassionate nursing care at the end of life in hospital settings," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(11-12), pages 1788-1796, June.
    12. Dot Brown & John Oetzel & Alison Henderson, 2016. "Communication networks of men facing a diagnosis of prostate cancer," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(21-22), pages 3266-3278, November.
    13. Meg Parsons & Lara Taylor & Roa Crease, 2021. "Indigenous Environmental Justice within Marine Ecosystems: A Systematic Review of the Literature on Indigenous Peoples’ Involvement in Marine Governance and Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-33, April.
    14. Ivan Minguez & Tristan Loloum, 2024. "Framing Energy Sufficiency in a Swiss Mountain Resort," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-21, December.
    15. Claire Murray & Florence Gabriel & JohnPaul Kennedy, 2024. "Factors that promote student well-being in schools: a scoping review of Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand literature," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    16. Larry Dwyer, 2024. "Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST): New Wine in an Old Bottle?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-20, July.
    17. Hugo Pinto & Miriam Barboza & Carla Nogueira, 2025. "Perceptions and Behaviors Concerning Tourism Degrowth and Sustainable Tourism: Latent Dimensions and Types of Tourists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-24, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1123-:d:1580373. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.