Opinion: Rarotonga hospitality a lesson for Rotorua

Attitude makes all the difference in hospitality and Rarotonga knows how to make visitors feel genuinely welcome. PHOTO/FILE

I took the opportunity this week to duck off to the Cook Islands for a few days. It was a happy event held in Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands. A slice of paradise if ever there was one.

I can't recall how many times I have missed special events, celebrations and functions because of work commitments.

Work always came first. Sadly I have sometimes applied this thinking to absent myself from tangi I should have attended. Not anymore.

For special people you need to make the effort and that's what I do now. Work will always be there and you should never be foolish enough to think you are indispensable. Even for a few days.

I don't know why I have never been to Rarotonga before. Family and friends have been there on many occasions. They know how to enjoy themselves on any one of their 15 tiny islands in the Pacific.

In Rarotonga it was a relief to see people looking up when walking about rather than with heads down eyes glued to the screen on their mobile phones.

A few tourists used their mobiles to take photos, possibly send texts, too, but it wasn't obvious.

It appeared that everyone wanted to keep the resort where I stayed mobile phone-free. I didn't hear anyone speaking on their phone during my entire stay. Even the locals didn't seem to use and carry mobile phones everywhere.

It was uncanny.

We have become so used to seeing everyone around us with a mobile phone stuck to their ear or their eyes glued to its screen. Look around next time you are sitting in a cafe. I call it visual pollution.

I found the pace of life on Rarotonga a great stress release. They seem to have the perfect work-life balance and are welcoming to visitors.

I think all resort staff must be instructed to say kia orana as they pass guests. They always do and it is always said with a smile.

Coming from Rotorua, I paid particular attention to the service and attention resort staff and retailers in town gave to visitors. In my view their genuine hospitality and attention to the needs of their overseas visitors exceeds what we normally see in New Zealand.

A ''gross generalisation'' I hear you say. I wish it were but I don't think so.

My comment comes from observation as I travel up and down the country every month. We are so pleased, and I might add grateful, when we do experience outstanding service that we can't believe our luck. But luck has nothing to do with it.

There was a time when we were more genuine in our welcome to visitors.

We wanted them to come to our shores to experience New Zealand hospitality. We needed them to grow our economy.

Has our attitude to visitors really changed? As a small country at the bottom of the world we have to constantly strive to ensure we have high standards in visitor service delivery. The same standards or better than our overseas visitors experience in their own country.

We want our visitors to leave happy, hopefully wanting to come back someday. They should experience genuine hospitality from those working in the tourism sector. As a visitor you know it when you see and experience it.

Front-line workers, those interacting with visitors day in and day out are the ones who make or break a visitor's experience of a country. They are so important.

An award-winning Rotorua hotelier told me he doesn't always look at skills and experience when hiring staff. These can be gained over time. He hires on attitude.

Attitude is everything. You either love the tourism sector and know how valuable you are to its success or you move on to something more suited to your talents. Don't quit and stay. That's when indifference sets in.

In Rarotonga you feel the warmth of the people. Something I hope we haven't lost in New Zealand. It will be difficult to regain.

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait lives in Rotorua. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart the spread of political correctness.