Speaking with travelBulletin about the importance of the cruise sector, Tahiti Tourisme president Bud Gilroy said efforts to promote voyages had led to an impressive 30% of all visitors arriving by plane booking a sailing in the region.
“We’ve grown our cruise industry from 500 calls to 1,400 calls in just 10 years,” Gilroy said. “For us this is very important growth because it really helps to diversify our offering.
“This segment is the only transportation vector that can get so many tourists to so many remote islands – one ship can sometimes be the equivalent of six domestic flights.”
Another key plank of French Polynesia’s cruise sector is to sustain cruise growth without impacting the local communities of its many tropical islands.
“Around 90% of our calls are ships with less than 500 passengers,” Gilroy explained. “That’s what I like about cruise because it answers what the locals are looking for as well.
“Passengers on a cruise line are only there from 8am to 6pm, there’s no pressure on accommodation or the resources on the islands”.
French Polynesia only has one hard cruise limit in place at the tourist-heavy Bora Bora, which is curbed to 1,200 passengers a day.
While the other islands do not have specific caps, Gilroy said the broader strategy is to limit visitation to smaller, environmentally conscious cruise lines with no more than roughly 500 passengers per ship.
“On the other islands, we have that natural cap already because we cannot provide excursions for so many people at one time.”
Gilroy added that in the long-term, this approach allows each island to “develop themselves” and take advantage of an industry that provides long-term visibility.
“It’s the only industry that’s booked two years in advance, so [local operators] can go to the bank with a business plan.”
Other key advantages of visiting French Polynesia by cruise are the dual infrastructure and experience benefits, with voyages taking the pressure off limited hotels on remote islands and delivering multiple island itineraries on one trip.
