Visitation to Tahiti is well above pre-pandemic levels, but tourism representatives don't want the numbers to climb much higher, at least not yet.
Senior officials from Tahiti Tourisme are making the rounds in Canada this week, and they stopped in Toronto on 11JUN to chat with Open Jaw about one of the world’s dreamiest destinations.
Jean-Marc Mocellin, CEO of Tahiti Tourisme, said Tahiti registered almost 262,000 arrivals in 2023, well above the 2019 figure of nearly 237,000. Canadian visits this year are up another 7%.
That’s great, but tourism reps actually don’t want their numbers to rise much more. They’ve set a limit of 280,000 visitors a year (the same as Tahiti's population) for the next few years so they can address key sustainability issues and grow in a measured fashion that doesn’t overwhelm the environment.
They’re also looking to move people away from the “usual” spots frequented by tourists and get them to explore lesser-known islands and island groups that are part of Tahiti.
“We want the whole population to benefit from tourism, not just Tahiti (island) and Bora Bora,” Mocellin said. They are also looking at building small hotels that have minimal environmental impact.
As part of his presentation to Open Jaw, Mocellin showed a video of a father and son looking at footage of hordes of tourists in popular European destinations and shaking their heads in horror.
Mocellin said Tahiti Tourisme had the Global Sustainable Tourism Council visit the islands and assess their sustainability practices. They also recently polled more than 4,000 Tahitians from a variety of islands to find out what kind of development they would like. Or if they’d rather see none at all.
Eight out of ten Tahiti residents said they favour development, which makes sense in a destination where 80% of export revenue comes from tourism. But they want to go about it cautiously, Mocellin said. Only three percent of respondents said they want no development at all.
With 263,000 visitors last year, there’s still room before they reach the 280,000 visitor limit that Tahiti Tourisme has put in place through 2027. And that means they’re still drumming up business.
“We have to keep it up and even build on it,” Mocellin said. “Travel revenge is over, and there are new destinations opening up.
“We need to be more present in the market. That’s why we hired a Canadian agency (Zeno Group)” to do trade and consumer relations.
They also want to work more with Canadian travel advisors.
“You need an agent who really knows the destination,” Mocellin said. “There’s so much diversity, and people often move from island to island.”
The average Canadian stays a solid 14 nights in Tahiti, he noted. “If you sell one trip it’s like selling 10 to the Caribbean.”
Veronica Petcoff from Zeno Group said advisors are encouraged to check out their multi-level learning platform, which can be found at tahitispecialist.org.
“Your levels and status progress based on passengers booked, how frequently you book, and your experience in the destination. So, we’re really encouraging that.”
“Agents also can go back and track previous bookings,” she said. “Tour operators and level 2 and 3 Tahiti specialists can actually upload their own packages to our consumer-facing website and generate direct leads.”
Petcoff said Zeno Group has partnered with Air Tahiti Nui to promote its daily flights to Papeete from LAX and twice-weekly flights from SEA, which is a great connecting spot for visitors from Western Canada. Flights are listed at $1,621 return through the end of June.
Zeno also has been promoting Tahiti Tourisme’s “Feel What We Feel” campaign and has seen more than 250 new bookings.
In addition to the Air Tahiti Nui flights, Petcoff said there are flights to Tahiti from LAX on American Airlines (daily), Air France (five per week) and Delta (three per week). United (five flights per week) and French Bee (three per week) fly to Papeete from SFO.
Mocellin said Tahiti Tourisme is open to the use of vacation rentals.
“We’re lacking in hotel rooms so it’s good to have that option. There are nice villas available all over Tahiti, as well as Tahitian guest houses where visitors can live like a local.”
More and more visitors are also using yacht charters, making visiting various islands easy. Some yachts have four to six cabins, so they can sleep a large group of friends or family members.
Mocellin said 34% of Canadian online searches for Tahiti come from Montreal and 33% from Vancouver. Toronto accounts for about 19%. That being said, British Columbia is their largest market for actual visitors.
The majority of Canadians visit Bora Bora, but many also visit lesser-known islands such as Raiatea and Huahine.
“Americans tend to go to Bora Bora only,” he said with a smile. "They go to Bora Bora and have an Instagram picture at an overwater bungalow. That’s fine. But Canadians like to explore more, like Europeans."
Tahiti's low season is from November to March, which is great for Canadians seeking a sun holiday. It's also when you find the best deals.
There’s not much new build to talk about, but Mocellin said the former Le Meridien Bora Bora will soon reopen as the Westin Bora Bora Resort and Spa. The former Ibis hotel in Moorea (easily reached by ferry from Papeete and one of the most striking islands in Tahiti) is now the Cooks Bay Hotel and Suites.
He also said a new cruise terminal building is coming to Papeete.
The surfing event for the Paris Summer Olympics will be held off the west coast of Tahiti Island (specifically, the peninsula called Tahiti Iti), but the surf break isn’t terribly close to shore, and there’s no place for tourists to watch. Still, Mocellin figures the publicity will be good for Tahiti and will remind people that the first time Europeans saw anyone on a surfboard was in Tahiti several centuries ago.
Asked about his own personal faves in Tahiti, Mocellin said he likes remote, quiet islands such as Rapa, which is part of the Austral Islands chain.
Tahiti Tourisme Chief Operations Officer Gina Bunton said she’s especially fond of the Tuamotu archipelago, including Rangiroa and Fakarava.
“You’re surrounded by beautiful blue water and great diving. What more could you want?”
