Tourism in New Caledonia

New Caledonia was "largely indifferent to tourists ... as long as nickel mining remained economically dominant" [ Douglas, N. and Douglas, N. (1996) "Tourism in the Pacific: Historical factors" in Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (eds.) "Tourism in the Pacific: Issues and Cases", London p. 31] . After the Korean War and Vietnam War, world prices for nickel collapsed (1970s) and aggressive marketing campaigns were initiated for the territory. [ Douglas, N. and Douglas, N. (1996) "Tourism in the Pacific: Historical factors" in Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (eds.) "Tourism in the Pacific: Issues and Cases", London pp. 65-80]

Paris of the Pacific

Cheap tourist packages were offered to Australians promising the 'Paris of the Pacific' and visitor numbers increased from less than 5000 to 20,000 in just 5 years. [Lyons, M. (1986) "The Totem and the Tricolour: A Short History of New Caledonia since 1774", New South Wales University Press: Kensington] . 37,000 tourists annually took cruises (mostly from Australia) and this allowed more hotels to be built in the 1970s and, in 1979, Club Mediterranee arrived. [Carter, J. (ed.) (1981) "Pacific Islands Yearbook, Fourteenth Edition", Pacific Publications: Sydney] The tourist market had shifted by the 1980s from Australia to Japan which became the target of many tourism campaigns. [ Douglas, N. and Douglas, N. (1996) "Tourism in the Pacific: Historical factors" in Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (eds.) "Tourism in the Pacific: Issues and Cases", London pp. 65-80] .By 2007,about 100 000 tourists visits each year.

Notes