Caroline Brunel, ANZ representative for Tahiti Tourisme, says a wide range of commissionable guest houses and vacation rentals are available for clients who want to meet the locals and ‘get under the skin’ of the destination. She says the USA and French markets are ‘going gangbusters’ and this can sometimes cause availability issues on the ground.

‘The hotels are wonderful of course but they are not the only option. Villas can be packaged up with flights and activities easily – something that is suitable for New Zealand market.‘

She says this option is especially appealing to families or groups of friends.

‘Part of our approach to sustainability is thinking about experiences that connect visitors to the local people, doing meaningful things and getting the money back to the community.’

The PPT event officially starts today but agents have had the chance to spend a day on a catamaran excursion out of Papeete with Poe Charter and do early site inspections. The group is staying at Hotel Hilton Tahiti and flew from Auckland with Air Tahiti Nui.

Daniel Eggenberger, general manager Pacific at TN says the airline’s three services a week are seeing strong bookings in all classes having steadily increased frequency since the one weekly service when the New Zealand borders started reopening last year.

‘We have optimal connections to Los Angeles both ways; that’s a big attraction and selling point. We have a dedicated LA connecting lane at Papeete and the connection time is roughly one and a half hours. Many customers also like spending a couple of days in Tahiti on the way back.’