The Sustainable Side of Tahiti You Don’t Often Read About
When you think of Tahiti, chances are your mind drifts to tropical islands adorned with lush landscapes and spotted with luxury resorts and charming bungalows. You might picture yourself stand up paddle boarding across turquoise waters or kicking back on white (or black!) sand beaches, with a cocktail in hand. You probably envisage underwater adventures and incredible sunsets.
These musings are founded on facts: the islands of Tahiti are idyllic and there are endless stunning accommodation providers showcasing all the wonderful things the region has to offer. What you might not visualise – because it’s a lesser-discussed aspect of the local tourism industry – is the strength of the sustainability efforts in play throughout this pocket of French Polynesia.
Given the natural beauty of the destination, protecting and preserving the 118 islands of Tahiti is hugely important to the locals and has been an inherent part of their lifestyle for a long time, well before the words “eco”, “green” and “sustainable” became so prevalent in the travel industry.
To ensure the magic of the crystalline waters, dazzling beaches and verdant vegetation endures for generations to come, official tourism plans that are overseen by government departments and tourism bodies have been set up for decades. Working in conjunction with these formal tourism drives, local businesses (including resorts) and sustainability action groups have pioneered efforts to ensure Tahiti remains one of the most pristine and bio-diverse travel destinations in the world.
From a guest perspective, there are plenty of opportunities to engage with local communities and get involved in some of the eco-friendly initiatives. For those travellers who resonate with our ‘culture and community’ and ‘nature and sustainability’ Y Factors, we’re happy to reveal that Tahiti is a fantastic destination if you’re looking to deepen your connection with the land you’re visiting, and enjoy a unique breed of luxury you won’t soon forget. You can feel good about travelling to Tahiti… in more ways than one.
Le Tahiti by Pearl Resorts
The Y Travel team were recently lucky enough to have representatives from Pearl Resorts of Tahiti visit the office and give us a rundown on all the amazing things the brand is doing in the country to protect the environment, and the local culture and communities.
The only fully Polynesian-owned hotel collection, the Pearl Resorts of Tahiti brand is passionate about the islands and their unique lifestyle; one that is rooted in respect for nature, as powerful as it is fragile. They created an environmental charter, named P.R.O.T.E.C.T (for Pearl Resorts of Tahiti: Eco-Caring Together), which is shared by all Pearl Resorts properties and factors in the specific challenges and needs of each archipelago.
A strategy to help preserve the beauty of French Polynesia, P.R.O.T.E.C.T is based on six main principles:
Water and energy efficiency
Waste reduction and management
Biodiversity protection
Sustainable purchases
Awareness-raising
Social commitment
Some tangible examples of the charter in action include everything from employment to training. 85 to 90% of the brand’s staff are not only Polynesian, but hail from the island where each hotel is located, which allows Pearl Resorts to give back to the community via maintaining jobs within the islands. As part of this commitment to local employment, they invest in staff training, with the vision of retaining as much local talent as possible and seeing team members grow their careers within the brand, from front desk to management as an example.
The resorts also support the community by buying directly from local producers of fish, fruits, and vegetables, which enables them to maintain and develop the economy within the islands and atolls they operate in.
From an environmental perspective, Pearl Resorts support a local environmental organisation in Bora Bora and Taha'a called Espace Bleu, which focuses on implementing and preserving coral nurseries that contribute to the good health of the region’s lagoons. They’re also working with a local initiative that aims to regenerate native forest in Tahiti, which will not only help the regeneration of the islands’ forests but will also create jobs in the country.
Pearl Resorts Tahiti