3rd edition of the national meetings of the tourism overseas

MIL OSI Translation. French Polynesian to English –

Source: Government of French Polynesia

The minister of Tourism, Nicole Bouteau, has participated in the 3rd edition of the national Meetings of the tourism overseas, which was held this Monday in Paris, at the Ministry of Economy and finance. Opened by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, secretary of State at the Ministry of European and foreign affairs, and closed by the minister of the overseas, Annick Girardin, these meetings, held on the sidelines of the exhibition of industry of tourism Top Resa, allow public and private actors ultramarins to exchange on themes that are at the heart of the tourism development in overseas.

Several round tables were made throughout the day which was attended also to Polynesia, Christian Vernaudon, advisor and member of the denouncement to the overseas of the CESE (Conseil Economique, Social and Environmental), Paul Sloan, ceo of Tahiti Tourism, which was accompanied by Gina Bunton, director of international operations for Tahiti Tourism, Bud Gilroy, President of the Tahiti Cruise Club and Stéphane Renard, who represented the Maritime Cluster of French Polynesia.

The first panel discussion focused on the recommendations of the EESC in its recent opinion : “to Promote the sustainable tourism in the overseas “. In this opinion, the EESC calls for tourism to be sustainable and economically viable, which meets the challenges of environmental and climate change, taking account of its current and future impacts. It calls for the cultural identity and the richness of the biodiversity of the overseas at the heart of their strategy. For this, the training, involvement and awareness are essential to this approach. In exchange, Nicole Bouteau intervened to indicate that the Polynesia was completely in the recommendations made by the EESC, through the tourism development Strategy 2015-2020 implementation in Polynesia in the past 3 years.

The accompaniment enhanced the territories and of the holders of the projects was also mentioned. This support is driven by ” France Tourism Engineering “, established at the initiative of the inter-ministerial Committee of 19 January 2018, is a national scheme which aims to accelerate investment in tourism in the territories as a whole in order to facilitate the adjustment of supply to issues of internationalisation. Based on Atout France, as well as on the contribution to the financing of the Bank in the territories, it will be carried out for the benefit of all the territories ultramarins in the months to come.

The valuation of the commitment to hospitality and quality services has been the subject of an exchange rich. Strengthen and improve the quality of the tourist offer are strong elements to develop the attractiveness and competitiveness of destinations. France is characterized by a multitude of labels or quality procedures, implemented by networks of volunteers, integrated chains, professional organizations, associations, certification bodies, etc, all of these processes covers the appellations themselves diverse (charters, labels, certifications, skills), that are not based on the same requirements, or on the same terms and conditions. This round table was the occasion to present some of these designations that are based on the requirements and terms various.

These national meetings are completed by two panels : one on the promotion of gastronomy and culinary arts overseas as a vector of tourist development and the other on tourism issues for the development of boating and yachting. This last round table meeting in particular welcomed a speaker from the Maritime Cluster of French Polynesia. It was the occasion to highlight the links that exist between the issues of the nautical sector, and those of the tourist attractiveness of the territories. The quality of infrastructure, presence of skills and know-how, the stability of the economic standards and the environment are all factors which should allow the territories ultramarins to constitute themselves as tourist destinations must-sees in this area.

The minister of Tourism continues its mission and will participate in the IFTM Top Resa, which is one of the biggest fairs of tourism and travel, held annually in Paris. She will meet with tour operators and airlines present at the event to discuss the prospects of the “destination Tahiti and her islands” on the French market.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Please forgive us should the grammar and/or sentence structure is not be perfect.