PAPEETE (Tahitipresse/PINA) — Air Tahiti Nui officials are in Japan promoting the airline’s third weekly Tahiti-Japan-Tahiti flight. The new service will use one of the airline’s two Airbus A340-300 aircraft.
“The Tahiti-Japan flights could generate profits as early as 2003,” said Air Tahiti Nui Chairman Nelson Levy.
Air Tahiti Nui organized meetings with more than 200 Japanese tour operators and travel journalists in Tokyo and Osaka.
Until now, with two weekly flights to Japan, Air Tahiti Nui had a 72 percent seating capacity rate on flights to Tokyo and 51 percent on flights to Osaka.
The Tahitian airline carried 19,000 Japanese visitors last year.
Levy also launched a new campaign for the promotion of Tahiti in Japan worth $2.3 million, funded jointly by Air Tahiti Nui and the Tahiti tourism board.
Statistics show that each Japanese visitor spends on average $2,000 during a stay in French Polynesia. Levy said that Air Tahiti Nui also planned to have offices in South Korea and Taiwan.
The two countries are seen as potential markets for Tahiti.
The French Polynesian government is backing the development of Air Tahiti Nui international services as part of efforts to protect and build Tahiti tourism.
