A publisher in French Polynesia says the territory's tourism sector is suffering because French-style management is smothering its personality.
A new report by the court of auditors in Paris says the French Polynesian tourism sector is in crisis because of a lack of professionalism, a failure to implement a long-term strategy and high travel costs.
The publisher of the Tahiti-Pacifique magazine, Alex du Prel, says a number of hotel chains were built in the early 2000s because of a tax write-off.
He says the hotel managers were imported from France and did not understand Tahitian culture, tainting the tourist experience.
Mr du Prel says another mistake has been managing the country's tourism sector from Paris.
"It was only last year, that the first time that the president from Tahiti went to Hawaii to see how they're doing tourism. Before that it was always to Paris. Tourism in France has nothing to do with tourism on tropical islands."
Alex du Prel.
