Annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence and achievements in the Cook Islands tourism sector.
The Air New Zealand Cook Islands Tourism Industry Awards return in 2025 with a black‑tie gala at the National Auditorium Domes on Saturday, 27 September 2025, celebrating excellence, innovation, and Kia Orana hospitality across Rarotonga and the Pa Enua with a refreshed slate of business and special award categories backed by industry sponsors and Air New Zealand as title partner. Revived after the pandemic pause, the awards resume their role as the Cook Islands’ most anticipated tourism celebration and a driver of continual business improvement, with applications opened in April 2025 by the Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council and finalists to be recognized on stage at the fall gala.
Date, venue, and organiser
- Gala date and venue: Saturday, 27 September 2025, National Auditorium Domes, Rarotonga.
- Organiser: Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council (CITIC) with Cook Islands Tourism support and Air New Zealand as naming sponsor.
- Purpose: Recognize excellence and stimulate continual business improvement across the visitor economy after the last full awards in 2020 and a domestic‑format gala delivered in January 2021 due to border closures.
Award categories for 2025
Business category awards announced for 2025 include Culture, Environment, Business Excellence, Adventure/Eco‑Tourism, Customer Care, Visitor Experience, Employer of the Year, Community Development, and Marketing, with top performers advancing to contention for the Air New Zealand Supreme Award as overall winner of the night. Special awards will also be conferred for Emerging Tourism Leader, Family Friendly, Social Media Guru, Business Sustainability, Outstanding Kia Orana Spirit, and Business Person of the Year, rounding out recognition that spans leadership, operations, guest experience, and values‑driven impact.
Why the awards matter now
Cook Islands Tourism positioned the 2025 awards as a milestone homecoming for the sector, honoring resilience and partnership among airlines, accommodation, tour operators, hospitality, and communities that have rebuilt demand while lifting quality and cultural integrity since borders reopened. CITIC President Tere Carr underscored the awards as a platform to spotlight individuals and businesses that are showcasing the best of the Cook Islands today, while Cook Islands Tourism CEO Karla Eggelton emphasized alignment with changing visitor expectations and a future‑focused, high‑quality sector across Rarotonga and the Pa Enua. The biennial awards’ objectives, established pre‑pandemic, are reaffirmed in 2025: stimulate continuous improvement and recognize excellence across businesses large and small.
Applications, judging, and timeline
- Applications: Opened 6 a.m. Monday, 14 April 2025, via the awards portal, with guidance provided by the Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council on category selection and documentation.
- Judging approach: In prior editions, expert judges have combined written entry evaluations with on‑site visits and interviews to assess performance, innovation, and guest outcomes, a model the industry expects to inform 2025’s robust deliberation process ahead of the September gala.
- Gala outcomes: In addition to business category winners and special awards, the program culminates with Outstanding Contribution to Tourism, Lifetime Achievement, and the Air New Zealand Supreme Award to recognize enduring leadership and overall excellence.
What finalists can expect
Finalists typically receive brand elevation through Cook Islands Tourism and CITIC channels ahead of the gala, opportunities for media features, and inclusion in industry networking and capability‑building sessions that cluster around the awards season. Category winners gain formal recognition that supports marketing, trade relationships, and staff pride, while Supreme and Lifetime honorees join a lineage of sector leaders celebrated since the awards’ early years. The National Auditorium Domes setting provides a signature stage for on‑island celebration with cultural performance and community presence that reflect the islands’ spirit of welcome.
How categories align with destination priorities
- Culture and Kia Orana Spirit: Incentivize authentic storytelling, language, and protocols that enhance visitor understanding while sustaining identity.
- Environment and Business Sustainability: Reward operators reducing footprints, protecting lagoons and reefs, and investing in climate resilience across operations and supply chains.
- Community Development and Employer of the Year: Recognize businesses that invest in Cook Islanders’ skills, wellbeing, and pathways, spreading benefits throughout the Pa Enua as well as Rarotonga.
- Visitor Experience, Customer Care, Marketing: Highlight consistently excellent service, product design, and market storytelling that keeps the Cook Islands competitive in the Pacific.
Travel and attendance tips
- Attending the gala: Industry teams and partners should secure travel and accommodation early for the late‑September weekend; seating is limited at the National Auditorium Domes, and tickets typically sell via the awards contact points announced by CITIC.
- Getting there: Air New Zealand services connect to Rarotonga with onward links; plan for Friday arrival to attend pre‑events and rehearsals, with departures Sunday or Monday after industry networking.
- Dress and protocol: The awards are black‑tie with island flair; expect cultural performances and formal acknowledgments alongside category presentations, plus media moments for winners on stage and afterwards.
Preparing a strong entry
- Evidence‑based storytelling: Align narratives with measurable outcomes — guest satisfaction metrics, environmental indicators, training hours, and community investments — to stand out in competitive categories.
- Cultural leadership: Document initiatives that embed language and custom in guest journeys, staff training, and product design to resonate in Culture and Kia Orana Spirit awards.
- Future focus: Demonstrate resilience innovations since 2020, such as digitization, new distribution, sustainability upgrades, or Pa Enua partnerships that diversified markets and created shared value.
- Visual assets: Provide high‑quality imagery and short videos that judges and media can reuse; past awards have benefited from strong visual storytelling during on‑site visits and gala showcases.
Community impact and visibility
Public coverage of past awards highlights the sector’s collective pride and the inspirational effect of finalists’ stories on peers and communities. Finalist announcements have historically been paired with on‑site judging tours across Rarotonga and Aitutaki, reinforcing the awards’ role as both a recognition platform and an industry development exercise that lifts standards and shares best practice across operators. With 2025’s revival, sponsors, media, and government partners have re‑committed to using the awards as a showcase of how tourism strengthens the Cook Islands economy, environment, and culture.
Verified details at a glance
- Event: 2025 Air New Zealand Cook Islands Tourism Industry Awards.
- Gala: Saturday, 27 September 2025, National Auditorium Domes, Rarotonga.
- Organiser: Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council; supported by Cook Islands Tourism; Air New Zealand title sponsor.
- Business categories: Culture; Environment; Business Excellence; Adventure/Eco‑Tourism; Customer Care; Visitor Experience; Employer of the Year; Community Development; Marketing.
- Special awards: Emerging Tourism Leader; Family Friendly; Social Media Guru; Business Sustainability; Outstanding Kia Orana Spirit; Business Person of the Year.
- Top honours: Outstanding Contribution to Tourism; Lifetime Achievement; Air New Zealand Supreme Award.
- Applications: Opened 14 April 2025 via CITIC awards portal; guidance and contacts published by CITIC and Cook Islands Tourism.
The industry’s night is back. Mark Saturday, 27 September, rally teams, refine entries with clear outcomes and cultural heart, and plan a gala weekend that honors staff, partners, and the communities who make Kia Orana hospitality unforgettable. Follow the Cook Islands Tourism and CITIC updates for finalist announcements and ticket details, and get ready to celebrate the businesses leading the Cook Islands into a vibrant, sustainable future — on a stage worthy of their achievements.