Research Note: The Impact of Marketing Expenditure on International Tourism Demand for the Cook Islands

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of internal and external factors on the increase in international tourism demand for the Cook Islands for the period 2000–2012. The authors find that the key internal factor, the growth in destination marketing by the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation representatives in major markets, has had a positive and significant effect on the increase in the Cook Islands' visitor inflow. The boost in marketing expenditure has also created a remarkable change in the decomposition of the visitor flows from major countries.