Speaking last night at the formal launch dinner for the sixth edition of the Parau Parau Tahiti conference, Tahiti Tourisme chair Bid Gilroy said one of its major growth challenges was to be less reliant on the United States and France for tourism.
“That’s not going to change tomorrow, however, it’s our goal to try to find and build up other key markets,” Gilroy explained.
“Our ambition is to reach what we had before COVID-19 with about 15,000 Australians [visiting], and not to cannibalise New Zealand, but help it grow back because I know the times are difficult,” he added.
The comments follow a broader concern about international travel numbers to the United States, with fewer travellers from Australia and New Zealand booking trips to the market and limiting opportunities for Tahiti to be a stopover destination.
Gilroy added that another major objective will be to boost visitation year-round and ensure that other islands in French Polynesia are better supported and marketed as tourism destinations to insulate against high and low seasonality.
“Over the last two to three years we have had great numbers from Jan to Dec, [but] that has gone a little bit now and we are seeing a return of seasonality nowadays in Tahiti and its islands,” he explained.
“With more [visits] in some islands such as Bora Bora, it’s important for us to try to diversify our markets to fill up the months that are not as full as with different products.
“It is very important to us that Tahiti is there for everyone and we need the expertise of [int’l sellers and operators] with that,” Gilroy concluded.
While there are some challenges to overcome, French Polynesia recorded its third year in a row of record tourism numbers, finishing 2025 with 281,227 visits.
A major growth area in those numbers has been the cruise sector, which accounted for roughly 20% through intra-cruising to the destination’s various islands.
The change of tack also arrives after the appointment of Vaihere Lissant as director general of Tahiti Tourisme in Mar last year, who replaced Jean-Marc Mocellin in the position.
Additionally, Air Tahiti recruited a new chief executive officer in Lionel Guerin earlier this month
