TAHITI AIRPORTS, DREAM WI(L)DER
In 1962, in Papeete, Tahiti, on a high sea coral plateau, the first French Polynesian airport was built. Faa’a Airport hardly only welcomed local flights until 1998, when national airline Air Tahiti Nui started operating. The market then opened internationally, seriously impacting the influx to the archipelago.
9/11 and the oil and financial crisis of 2004-2011 hit businesses hard, many didn’t survive. Tahitian businesses, airlines and hotels, seized opportunities to open new routes and merge with other companies. Tahiti Airports became directly connected to cities like Paris with flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui and its partners - Air France, Air New Zealand, Japan Airlines, Qantas, United... Faa’a Airport is cruised by at least as many nationalities as it counts partners and its goal is to please them all.
The airport counts 2800 local employees (1 or 2% of the population) and bets on its strong identity to impact visitors. A new arrival terminal was inaugurated in march 2018. The colors, the space, the music, the welcome dances, the outfits, the artwork, the museum, everything about it is typically Polynesian. A visitor arriving or leaving Tahiti will feel it until the last minute.
A much wi(l)der project, demolishing and rebuilding the entire public side of the terminal, was slowed down by contractual disagreements. Hope is that construction will start again in 2019. Tahiti Airports is taking it beyond anything previously seen in airports.
“An airport doesn’t quietly wait for customers to arrive”, explains Eric Dumare, General Manager. Multiple aspects need to be managed: infrastructure development, exploitation, maintenance and promotion. Contact with airlines, tour operators, tourism offices, has to be constant. The upstream work, involving the press or TV shows, is mostly strategic, commercial, invisible.
Airport policies encourage the arrival of new companies and the emergence of new routes. For instance, Tahiti Airports can apply discounts to aeronautical fees that are first regulated. New companies can benefit from up to 50% discounts while GIO Tahiti Tourism helps them with communication campaigns.
United and French Bee, two companies who recently entered the market, are the result of years of investigations with their partner, SGIS. With these contracts, +1200 visitors are expected every week. It is a great sign of trust and a great message for tourism and the whole aerial community.
US customers remain the first source of visitors to the airport. French Polynesia is more stable than ever. Investors are coming from all around the world, hotels and activities are growing every day, the quality of service is absolutely and successfully the top one priority, new routes are created every year to connect the world to French Polynesians wonders, easily and comfortably.
“New companies can benefit from up to 50% discounts and Tahiti Tourism communication campaigns”.
“Fa’a was built in 1962. Today, +1200 visitors are expected every week”.