Survivor to film next Seasons Episodes on Aitutaki
 

Word in the Cooks is that this coming fall's episodes of Survivor are to be filmed on one of the motus (islets) of Aitutaki. Apparently filming is to begin in May.

Ken

Well, I guess the folk of the islands must have agreed to this.

I rarely watch the show. Not my cup of tea. But it obviously brings the chosen setting to the attention of people who'd never even heard of it before.

Will rampant development follow?

Fuzzy -

Yes, I suspect Aitutaki is about to be discovered by 30 million Americans.

Ken

Thanks for posting this information!
I agree that the vast majority of Americans have never heard of the Cook Islands. However I don't think that tourism will be widely affected. First, most people who have enough money/ vacation time to travel there probably don't watch Survivor. Second, past locations such as Borneo, Vanuatu, and Panamanian islands have not been invaded by American tourists.
We really hope to get to the Cook Islands- and I must confess that we do Tivo Survivor- so I am much looking forward to the new season!
Liz

Tim_and_Liz -

Usually I would agree with you that it won't have much impact, but the Cooks are a little different situation than the other places you mention.

For one thing, tourism in the Cooks is already starting to heat up and the Cooks are no longer the great secret that they used to be, with various publications (such as last Decembers' issue of Islands magazine) prominantly featuring the place. The Cooks are indeed becoming one of the "hot" destinations of the South Pacific. The long abandoned Sheraton hotel on Raro is at last starting up again (as the Captain Cook resort - http://tepakigroup.co.nz/captcook/) and represents a major change for tourism on the island (at least in scale). This comes as more and more upscale places appear in the Cooks. In addition plans for the new Captain Bligh resort on Aitutaki are shaping up (http://tepakigroup.co.nz/captbligh/index.php) and the place will feature the Cook Islands first true overwater bungalows. Owners of other parcels of land on Aitutaki are threatening to built their own OW resorts if the Captain Bligh resort goes through so you could see a major explosion of resorts on this tropical paradise island.

The other factor is that the Cooks are so similar to (and "right next door" to French Polynesia) - which is horribly overpriced, and with some islands that are threatening to become overbuilt (ie Bora Bora). As more and more folks find themselves "priced out" of FP, the Cooks are logical place to go.

The added exposure from Survivor may be enough to really tip the Cooks into some major development.

This may not happen, but having seen how gorgeous the Cooks are, I wouldn't bet on it. In expecting increasing development and rising prices.

Ken

Opps, meant to say:

"I'm expecting increasing development and rising prices."

Ken

I am with Lord Balfor on this one.

Look out as the rampant development takes place. If it is to be so, I hope the locals benefit.

In some ways Aitutaki is on the cusp of development anyway. The only things that seem to have held them back is lack of coordinated development and lack of water.

The airport at Aitutaki, if it were sealed and brought up to spec, would be able to take direct flights ffrom Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand as it was built long enough to take long range bombers at the end of the Second World War. (In fact during the golden age of air travel, Aitutaki was one of the stops on the coral route for flying boats, though of course they landed on the lagoon not the land). As it is there is a direct flight with Air NZ to the Cooks (Rarotonga) from Los Angeles.

I will have to get back there quick to savour that uniquely slow pace of life whilst it still exists.

Does anyone know which motu they will be using? Not One Foot I hope.

Must own up though and say, I like survivor. The recent Survivor Guatemala was the best one I have seen.

I find your reply ambiguous Lord B. Well no, perhaps not. Seems to me you think it is a good thing with all those links posted.

Would you like to say why?

Cheers.

Well, the fact is, I indeed have some degree of mixed feelings about the Cooks development. In truth, I don't think the addition (for example) of a single OW bungalow resort on Aitutaki will "ruin" the place and will in fact add to the ambience. Addition of a lot of them and a general rise in prices (ala Bora Bora), probably will however. That is what I expect to happen - though it will not happen overnight, but rather will unfold over the next decade or so.

So, in the short run a resort with OW bungalows seems to me to be a good thing - in the long run, probably not - but much depends on how the Cook Islanders handle their situation.

Ken

I've been to Aitutaki, and it is indeed a lovely island. It doesn't seem like a good location for "Survivor", though. Are there really any of the motus large enough for the two teams to have camps set up? It also seems pretty tame compared to every other location "Survivor" has used.

Diane37 -

Maybe they'll set them up on 2 separate but nearby motus like the British TV series "Shipwrecked" (which I think may have been the inspiration for Survivor) did in their 2nd time filming on Aitutaki last year (broadcast in Britain this season).

Will post updates as I hear them.

Ken

Okay, here's a bit more from the rumor mill.

I shot off a quick note to David Stanley, author of Moon Handbooks' "Tahiti" and numerous other well-regarded travel books on the region, asking if heard heard anything about the Survivor story. He hadn't, but he has lots of sources so I'd guess he's been doing some checking. I got a note back from him this morning saying he's posted some info on his Southpacific.org website. You can see it here:

http://www.southpacific.org/blog/200...-aitutaki.html

Sounds like maybe the final decision may not have been made yet, but that scouts have been poking around on the uninhabited motus on the southeast side of the island (that would place them down near (but not necessarily on) One Foot).

His advice about booking accomodations on Aitutaki is certainly sound (same advice offered by "Raro" (travel author Elliot Smith, owner of the Shangri-La resort on Rarotonga) on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree board, who's a mutual e-mail acquaintance of both David and myself).

Ken

I just wanted to confirm the rumor. While we visited last September and was visiting the different islands off of Aitutaki, there is one island we could not go to, because they were filming Survivor on this island. It is a well known fact within the locals of Aitutaki. I don't usually watch survivor, but I'll be watching this one!

Swiggle75 -

Actually at that point they were probably filming "Shipwrecked" a British show similar to "Survivor" - that I think "Survivor" was copied from. It was their second time filming there and this time around they shot on two of the motus instead of just one.

"Survivor" has not yet started filming (though location scouts have been spotted). I'm not entirely sure that the final decision has been made to actually film on Aitutaki or to shoot elsewhere - although many on Aitutaki apparently believe so.

As soon as I know something "for sure" either way I'll post the information.

Ken

PS - You're not the first person to hear that "Survivor" was being filmed rather than "Shipwrecked". It's caused lots of confusion and misinformation. In fact, I'd been hearing rumors of "Survivor" coming to Aitutaki for quite some time before I realized that it was indeed "Survivor" they were talking about and not the previous shooting of "Shipwrecked" (which just broadcast in Britain fairly recently).

Ken

First "official" word on the possiblity that Aitutaki will be the site of next seasons "Survivor":

http://www.cinews.co.ck/local.htm#14

Does not sound like the final decision has been made yet.

Ken

More news:

I just received an e-mail from one of the Survivor followers that mentions that apparently the first lot of Survivor cargo containers will arrive in Aitutaki on approximately April 20th.

Since I'll be on Aitutaki during that time, it sounds like I may get to see it first hand - so if they appear, it should put the matter to rest.

She also says that an internet fan confirmed that many resorts in Aitutaki have been completely reserved from June to mid-August by the American Survivor production company.

Ken

Too bad. First Bora Bora, now Aitutaki. Gotta find some more small islands. Get to em before they're over run.