• 6 min de lectura
• 6 min de lectura
For his latest "Hidden" prime time television special, travel journalist Peter Greenberg featured French Polynesia, a place he's been in love with since 1981, and resident ship Paul Gauguin gets a cameo.
In "Hidden Tahiti," Greenberg races in a traditional va'a canoe, explores ancient Polynesian navigation, nets fish on a reef with a local man, opens an oyster to find a black pearl, feeds sweet grapefruit from the tree to pigs on a family farm and joins a warrior dance in the Marquesas.
He also presents two models of modern sustainability, one on land and one on sea — The Brando, an eco-friendly luxury resort founded by Marlon Brando, and Paul Gauguin, sailing from Tahiti since 1998.
"We wanted to talk not about a cruise ship that was just visiting Polynesia but one tailor-built for Polynesia by the French with a very wide beam and a very shallow draft. It was made only for these waters," Greenberg told Seatrade Cruise News at the premiere. There's very little margin for error in French Polynesia with its shallow water and narrow passages.
"The ship was perfectly built for this, to do it without damaging anything. And it never leaves. It's not visiting. It's home," Greenberg said. Also, the Paul Gauguin product relies on local knowledge and culture.
"We wanted to show people a more thoughtful way of cruising the islands," Greenberg said.
He summed up "Hidden Tahiti" as "a wonderful mix of history and culture and food and music and sustainability and adventure travel."
"I've known and respected Peter Greenberg for many years," said Peter Knego, cruise journalist and YouTuber at MidShipCinema.com, who attended the premiere. "I've always enjoyed his work but 'Hidden Tahiti' knocked it out of the park with his insight and passion for the subject. It was understated, human and elegant."
More than 150 guests included travel industry partners, high-level Ponant Yacht Club members, media and the actress Donna Mills. They sipped French 75 cocktails and nibbled hors d'oeuvres as the renowned Pacific Islander dance studio Nonosina performed. Orchids graced the tables. Black pearls were given away.
"When you look at global travel and all the beautiful places to go, it's our job to make sure French Polynesia stays top of mind," said Sam Chamberlain, Americas CEO, Ponant Explorations Group, who hosted the evening. He called the region a "premier luxury destination that is in vogue now."
Chamberlain welcomed French Polynesia Culture Minister Samantha Bonet-Tirao, Tahiti Tourisme Chairman Bud Gilroy and Chief International Operations Officer Hironui Johnston, along with Paul Gauguin partners The Brando and Air Tahiti Nui. Paul Gauguin Capt. René-Paul Boucher was also on hand.
Joining Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia this winter is Ponant's smaller Le Jacques Cartier, which just arrived in Bora Bora Tuesday to begin a season of nine "discovery" cruises. Chamberlain said the two ships are complementary. Over years, Paul Gauguin has "perfected" the seven-night Society Islands itinerary, which is a bucket-list trip and a favorite for honeymooners, and carries mostly North Americans.
The Ponant brand sources more globally, and Le Jacques Cartier will sail longer, 14-night cruises that are further flung and more expensive.
Chamberlain's group provides strong support to travel advisors selling French Polynesia, and joining him at the Hollywood event were VP Sales Ellen McIlvaine, VP Marketing/Communications Susan Robison and Chief of Staff Faith Earley.
Tahiti Tourisme's Gilroy, who also runs a shipping agency serving 17 cruise lines, said that with the added airlift in recent years, including United Airlines service from San Francisco and upcoming Qantas/Air Tahiti Nui codeshare flights from Sydney starting Dec. 14, access is no longer an issue.
Rather, it's awareness that's needed, and that's where a show like "Hidden Tahiti" comes in, especially for the North American market.
North Americans comprise 40% of tourism arrivals and cruising makes up 25% of tourism revenue and uses 30% of airlift.
It is the third consecutive year of record tourism growth, with 284,000 visitors. "It's not big. We're not trying to be Hawaii," Gilroy said.
Many ships carry fewer than 500 passengers, so destinations are able to comfortably receive them and cruise tourism is seen as an economic opportunity for remote islands because they don't have to build costly infrastructure. French Polynesia has only two cruise piers; most everywhere, ships tender. The business is small-scale and very quality-oriented.
Some 25 cruise lines call, with close to 40 ships. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will chart French Polynesia for the first time, staying four months. Windstar Cruises operates year-round.
"Our biggest hurdle, compared to Hawaii, is that our repeater rate was very low. It was the trip of a lifetime because people felt like it was so far away," Gilroy said. Now, with more cruises and better airlift, the destination is more accessible.
And for North Americans, hotel brands like InterContinental, Four Seasons and St. Regis help raise awareness, along with cruise brands. Because of French Polynesia's vast size — it's larger than the continent of Europe — and five archipelagos that are different, there's plenty to entice return visits.
"Tahiti is much more than Papeete or Bora Bora," Greenberg said. He visited 12 islands for "Hidden Tahiti" but couldn't include them all. "My only regret in doing the show was realizing how much I couldn't do. It's wonderfully overwhelming," he said.
"It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. You come back from French Polynesia and your friends want to know what kind of filter you used on your camera. There is no filter. That's how it looks.
"You are seduced by the light and the color of the water ... The people move in almost slow motion. Imagine walking like waves ... The Tahitians seem like they're in sync with the rhythm of the flow of the waves. How could you not be seduced by that?"
"Hidden Tahiti" is scheduled to premiere on PBS in about two months. Right after that, it will air simultaneously on Apple, Amazon TV and YouTube, with a huge distribution for about three years, Greenberg said.
French Polynesia has been making a splash in Los Angeles this week with another cultural event, the arrival of "Portrait of Mai" to the J. Paul Getty Museum. Purchased jointly with London's National Portrait Gallery, the painting depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain and is on display for the first time in the US.