Hopes that new marriage law will boost French Polynesia tourism
Updated
A new law passed by the French national assembly will allow visitors to French Polynesia to legally get married there, as part of a plan to boost economic development in the overseas territories. It means foreign tourists will no longer have to arrive 90 days in advance of a legal ceremony. Both the French and local Governments estimate the move will boost tourist numbers by about 10%. While tour operators welcome the new law, they warn that its unlikely to have an immediate impact.
Presenter Helene Hofman
Speakers: President of the French Polynesian Union of Travel Agencies Diana Chinchoi, South Pacific-dot-Travel CEO Tony Everitt, Tiki Theatre Village Owner Olivier Briac
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HELENE HOFMAN: Tour operators will tell you that the traditional French Polynesian wedding ceremony has it all, music, dancing and a beautiful location. Until recently, the one thing it lacked was legal recognition. Now, a new law on economic development for the French overseas territories has removed a 30-day residency clause for marriage licenses, paving the way for shorter-term visitors to French Polynesia to get married there legally. Olivier Briac, who owns the Tiki Theatre Village on the island of Moorea, has been hosting traditional wedding ceremonies for over 15 years. He's expecting the new law to boost business significantly.
OLIVIER BRIAC: We have lost so many weddings. The romantic Tahitian wedding is something absolutely unique. But there are a lot of visitors who did want to be married, but they wanted a legal wedding. When you can get both on the same place. It's done, it's finished, it's fabulous and we will get another minimum 15, 20 weddings more every month and for our village it's something absolutely fantastic.
HELENE HOFMAN: French Polynesia is heavily dependent on tourism, which accounts for at least a quarter of gross domestic product. However, in recent years, the number of visitors to the region has been steadily declining, and in February, it hit its lowest level since 1996. The French Polynesian Government has been lobbying the Metropolitan Government to change marriage laws for years, with the French State Secretary for the overseas territories, Yves Jégo, going as far as saying that the measure "could save tourism in French Polynesia." The President of the Union of Travel Agencies, Diana Chinchoi, says she has doubts that allowing tourist weddings will boost the industry by 10% as predicted by the Government.
DIANA CHINCHOI: I don't think that we can make an estimation on that, especially during this period which is, as everybody knows, there is a crisis for all destinations worldwide. But obviously, that would generate a small business, maybe not for 2009 because people who make a decision to get married will make a decision, I think a bit ahead of time. So I don't think that it will impact 2009 year, for 2010, certainly. We should not forget that getting married abroad is still a niche market and it's obviously not the only thing to develop the tourism to Tahiti, to French Polynesia.
HELENE HOFMAN: Although they are unwilling to speculate on how many couples will avail of the law change, tourism operators agree that the weddings will contribute to boosting visitor numbers. And the CEO of the South Pacific dotTravel organisation, Tony Everitt, says it's not just those who host the weddings that will benefit.
TONY EVERITT: There's a lot involved in organising a wedding as anyone that's done one knows and there are a number of service providers in that sector, a number of professional businesses that provide services to weddings. You've got flowers and you've got catering, you've got transport, you've got photography, you've got gown services, for both bride and groom, outfitting bride and groom in the delegations, so it's really quite an industry involved and it can add a lot of value to a local economy.
