Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #37

Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #37
2018 Winter Edition 7
activity can be related to blue tourism.
Each of the sectors is fairly structured, even
if it is necessary to make further progress,
in particular for the local authorities, the
municipalities, where the problems to be
solved may sometimes seem complex. On
land, we must underline the efforts of
operators such as Dick Bailey (eds: Brando,
Pacific Beachcomber, Paul Gaugin Cruises,
etc.), who developed in Polynesia the first
SWAC systems (eds: a pioneering deep
seawater air-conditioning system). It’s not
challenges for French Polynesia go well
beyond tourism alone. The expanse of our
territory, the scattering of our islands and
the concentration of tourism and economic
flows are criteria which are obviously taken
into account when designing our tourism
development strategy.
Furthermore, the measures we take
must best preserve us from external
circumstantial fluctuations, whether
monetary, climatic, commercial, etc. This is
developing networks and relations with
TOs and TAs, mainly national ones, but
also recently, an opening onto North
America and various European countries.
Are any new air links planned?
French Blue and United Airlines have
announced new services via San Francisco
starting this year. We are also engaging
talks with other companies to service the
destination from other markets. We have
been in a phase of continuous growth for
DISCOVERING
OF TAHITI
Minister for Tourism,
Relations, Nicole Bouteau
just a paradise-like destination; it’s also an
important and responsible preoccupation
about this nature which is our wealth and
which needs to be protected.
How important is tourism in your GDP
and in terms of employment and what
actions do you envisage taking in the
short to mid-term? What are your
priorities?
For French Polynesia, for Tahiti and her
islands, the economic weight of tourism
is higher than the French national average
and closer to the world average, since
tourism accounts for about 10% of our
local GDP and 40% of our own resources.
In addition, expressed in full-time jobs,
tourism accounts for about 20% of all jobs
(public and private). The contribution for
the French Polynesian economy has no
equivalent in the world. The development
why we need to strengthen our structures,
our structuration. This is how we consider
our mid-term action.
The Islands of Tahiti are today very
well-known thanks to Bora Bora and
its luxury hotels. But a much more
diverse offering exists in terms of
accommodation types. What means
are you employing for this diversity to
become better known?
You are right. Various measures need
to be taken. Regarding the type of
accommodation you are mentioning,
which we call family-run hotels or
guesthouses, I can tell you that their
level of professionalism has considerably
increased over the past years. They are
now rated through French or international
labels. They have also streamlined their
commercial circuits, and they are slowly
the past three years after the crisis from
2008-2012, and are now reaching new
levels of turnover that had never been
reached before, with around 200,000
tourists. We are implementing a global
plan to upgrade existing, unclassified
or certified accommodation in order
to respond in a reactive manner to the
increase in the supply of seats in the air. We
have embarked on an in-depth overhaul
of our accommodation regulations,
allowing, among other things, to develop
and create a new dynamic in the medium
term in the small family hotel sector, our
family pensions, which are one of the key
selling points. In the longer term, major
hotel development projects, such as the
Tahitian Village on Tahiti, and the creation
of new hotels, are envisaged in the main
islands and also in the Society Islands and
Tuamotu