In Tahiti

Fewer Hotels, But More Empty Rooms In Tahiti

The number of tourists visit ing Tahiti has been falling off in the last 12 months, accord

ing to the Papeete daily, Le

Journal de Tahiti.

THE newspaper said this recently in reply to a statement by the French Minister for Overseas Terri tories, Mr. Pierre Billotte, who claimed that Tahiti was getting more tourists than last year.

The newspaper said it had checked with a number of establishments that were closely linked with the tourist industry, and all had expressed astonishment at the Minister’s state ment.

“Three years ago,” it went on, “Papeete had a score or so of hotels, and there was a shortage of rooms, even in the off-season.

“As July approached, it was not unusual to see tourists lodging with private people, and it was customary to take rooms anywhere you could find them.

“Since 1965, tourism has begun to show signs of a decline, and foreign tourists are a little more rare.”

Reasons For Decline

Le Journal de Tahiti said there seemed to be four reasons for this decline: • The cost of living, which had risen spectacularly. • The state of Papeete, which left much to be desired. • A lack of friendliness on the part of people involved in the tourist business. • The hotel service, which always left much to be desired.

The newspaper said that, before 1965, the people who were employed in the hotel business were tried and trusted, but these had left the hotels for better paid jobs.

The present employees were not adapted to the exigencies of hotel work, they were too young, and were difficult to recruit.

Overseas tourist agencies were now finding it very difficult to form travel groups of 15 persons to visit the territory.

The newspaper said that although five or six hotels had closed their doors to tourists during the year, the remainder still had rooms available.

“Thus there are not more tourists now than in 1965, but less—unless the Minister, in his statement, was referring to visitors in transit, who stay one, or two days at the most, or just long enough to take 10 photographs and spend as little as possible,” the paper said.

“Everything is so dear that even the Americans have become niggardly spenders, and leave for more clement skies.”

Footnote: A visitor to Tahiti, who returned to Rarotonga recently, told the Cook Islands News that tourists and the 28,000 military and con struction personnel based in Tahiti had created such a demand for food that prices were “verging on the ludicrous”. The visitor quoted the following sterling equivalents for prices at the Papeete market: Oranges (small), 1/- each; tomatoes, 14/- lb; bundle of three or our bananas, 2/9; grapefruit, 3/- to 6/- each; mangoes, 6/- each; papaws, 5/- each. The cheapest available breakfast cost 16/and consisted of one poached egg on toast, fruit and a beverage.