Niue understand · Niue tourist information
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Niue tourist information
Niue tourist information
Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have led to it being separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002) with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. It is self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974, with Niue fully responsible for domestic affairs, and New Zealand asked to retain responsibility for foreign affairs and defense.
The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry.
The word "Niue" is not used in the local language to refer to this island, meaning in fact "Look! There's a coconut". Captain Cook called it "Savage Island", thinking (incorrectly) that the natives who came to greet them were painted in blood.
Niue's timezone is GMT-11 mainland New Zealand is GMT+13 in daylight saving time. So Niue is one day later than the mainland.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Niue
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Niue - updated Apr 2024
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Niue Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.