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Rebuilding New Caledonia's Tourism Brand After 2024 Riots
Patrick Decloitre, Correspondent French Pacific Desk
Tourism professionals based in the Pacific region have gathered in Nouméa recently in a bid to re-launch destination New Caledonia and return to pre-May 2024 levels, especially from Australia and mainland France.
At a recent workshop organised by the local tourism organisation Nouvelle-Calédonie Tourism (NCT), about a dozen Australian and French tour operators held meetings with hotels, guest houses, recreational and leisure service providers.
At the same time, foreign professionals and representatives were taken on tours, to popular visitor locations and spots to get reassurances that business was back as usual, almost ten months after the May 2024 riots.
"Most of them were surprised, in a good way," NCT manager Julie Laronde told local media.
New Caledonia suffered a negative impact from the 2024 civil unrest, with a curfew being maintained until the end of last year, along with the related repercussions on international consular travel advice.
"But since the end of January in Australia, we're now starting to see the beginning of a rebound in terms of bookings," Australia-based NCT representative Rebecca Marchal said.
According to the latest official figures from ISEE (New Caledonia's statistical office), tourism arrivals in New Caledonia have drastically dropped in 2024 compared to the previous year, by 53 percent (-59,400 visitors) overall and -44 percent (-191,525 visitors) for cruise ships.
The estimated cost of damage from the May 2024 riots has been put at €2.2 billion, as well as over 10,000 jobs lost due to several hundred businesses buildings destroyed by arson and/or looting.
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