Cook Islands PM launches new brand for South Pacific tourism

Cook Islands Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Henry Puna officially launched a new brand and identity to promote South Pacific tourism globally after it was approved at the 26th Council of Tourism Ministers Meeting in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Organised by the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the region’s peak tourism development and marketing body, the council meeting was attended by tourism ministers and government representatives from 13 Pacific island countries and China.

The new brand draws heavily on Pacific Islands’ cultural elements, in particular weaving. Individual letters in South Pacific Islands and SPTO have been taken apart, then strung back together like the strands in a woven mat.

A simple corporate monogram for SPTO with a natural colour palette of beiges and browns drawn from traditional craft will be used for high-level communications.

On the other hand, all consumer facing communications will draw from a vibrant palette that’s inspired by the vivid colours found in Pacific arts and culture as well as the region’s lush natural environment.

A new consumer-facing slogan “Ours is yours” accompanies the new brand. It evokes the welcoming nature of Pacific peoples and the Pacific spirit of sharing, in particular the unique cultures and pristine natural environments that our island countries share with visitors from around the world.

In launching the new brand, Mr Puna said: “The South Pacific Islands are incredibly diverse and range from coral atolls to volcanic islands. They’re also home to a rich variety of cultures. The new brand for South Pacific tourism has found a simple yet effective way to connect our island countries through our shared heritage of weaving. At the same time, it’s a resolutely modern identity, one that will help propel South Pacific tourism forward in our increasingly globalised world”.

The creative agency behind the new identity FutureBrand has been responsible for a number of highly successful brand launches including Fiji Airways and Tahiti’s destination brand in recent times.

SPTO led the brand development over a two-year period in close consultation with SPTO’s 18 member countries. The current South Pacific Tourism brand has been in use since the late 90s and has been in need of overhaul for some time as is standard industry practice.

A full roll out of the new brand and identity will commence in the coming weeks and months.



Photo: Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna