Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

New Caledonia hoteliers struggle as tourism stagnates

Posted at 22:58 on 24 November, 2009 UTC

Tourism officials in New Caledonia say its traditional markets have shrunk while nearby destinations have seen visitor numbers go up in the past year.

The Hotel Association of New Caledonia says since 2002 arrival numbers have stayed below 100,000.

The Association has expressed its concern that the South Korean market has failed to take off, saying that rumours have it that the air link to Seoul will be abandoned.

The Association says it spent 16 million US dollars on promotion last year without any tangible impact.

At the same time, it says, Fiji has registered an increase of nearly 190,000 tourists while Vanuatu had 41,000 more tourists.

It says the sector is under pressure as costs such as wages have been going up.