ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the context in which the Chatham Islanders have historically offered a tourism product. It discusses avenues by which a new tourism industry can be developed that meets the needs of the expectant visitor and also satisfies the residents and local politicians. New tourism operations on Chatham are being established without really coordinating activity by public sector stakeholders or reference to the existing players in the market. The chapter reviews a decline in economic resources and activities on the Chatham Islands and the subsequent reaction by some to utilize tourism as a new and alternative activity for the destination, improving in the process the Islands’ economic diversification. The Chathams competed with other isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean to be the first inhabited Island to witness the start of the third Christian millennium. The socio-cultural makeup of the Chathams makes it necessary for any future development to be in sympathy with both residents and potential visitors.
