Tough time to be selling fun in the sun

By SIMON HENDERY

It is a difficult time to be in the international tourism business.

On top of the 18 months of uncertainty following the September 11 terror attacks, French-listed Club Mediterranee's bookings are down because of the war in Iraq.

In this part of the world, Club Med's new regional boss is putting on a brave facing and talking about ways of boosting bookings from New Zealand.

Philippe Raison, a Club Med veteran who has worked for the company since 1968, became its Australia, New Zealand and Pacific general manager this month.

He hopes plans to reopen Club Med's Moorea, Tahiti, resort and to focus on attracting corporate business will help reverse a drop in New Zealand business over the past two years.

About 3000 New Zealanders stay at Club Med resorts each year, down from about 4000 before Moorea closed in 2001.

Favourite destinations for New Zealanders are Bora Bora (Tahiti), Bali and Australia's Lindeman Island, where they typically stay for six or seven nights.

If there is a perception that Club Med is about young people partying hard, it is an image Raison is quick to dispel.

Yes, 10 per cent of Club Med's guests are single, he says, but 35 per cent of the 1.5 million who flock to the group's 120 resorts around the world each year are couples, and 55 per cent are part of a family group.

He says after the reopening of Moorea, the company is considering building a resort in Fiji. It has no plans for a New Zealand resort, but would look at one if it could find a site with summer and winter attractions that would generate sufficient business.