Flights to Tahiti from Australia with Air Tahiti Nui

TAHITI is increasing in popularity for Australian travellers, with its national airline boosting flights to meet demand.

Tahiti new tourism hot spot

TAHITI is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Australian travellers, with its national airline boosting flights to meet the growing demand.

Air Tahiti Nui will increase its flights from Auckland, New Zealand to the capital Papeete to three a week in December, with connections from Brisbane through codeshare partner Qantas. The move follows a 40 per cent rise in trips to French Polynesia by Australians in the past three years, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. While saying it comes off a low base, with about 10,000 Australians visiting Tahiti last year, Air Tahiti Nui's general manager for Australia and New Zealand Mark Hutchinson said it was a word-of-mouth destination that attracts travellers seeking romance and adventure. "More people go to Australia's most popular destinations in a week than go to Tahiti in a year," he says. "It's a little further than Fiji so you might not go there every six months but it's a special treat if you don't want to run with the tourists." Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, an archipelago of 118 islands in an area of the Pacific Ocean about the size of Europe. While most tourists arrive in Papeete, the most popular islands are Bora Bora and Moorea, famous for their overwater bungalows. It takes about 11 hours to get to Tahiti from Australia's east coast, including a two-hour transit in Auckland. From there it is a 30-minute ferry ride to Moorea or one-hour flight to Bora Bora. Tourism to French Polynesia suffered a hit when the Club Med resort at Bora Bora closed in 2009. Australian mining tycoon Clive Palmer bought the property for $10 million last year, but he has not announced plans to redevelop it yet. Hutchinson says many Australians are also seeking out the lesser-known islands such as Rangiroa, known for its amazing sea life, and "the pink sand island" Tikehau. The remote Marquesas archipelago is popular for cruising and sailing. While some travellers may take one look at photos of the overwater bungalows and write the destination off as too expensive, he says there are plenty of budget options available including cabins and rustic, family-run pensions, similar to bed and breakfasts. He says there is also more to the destination than beaches and lagoons, with activities including swimming with sharks and stingrays, pearl farm visits, surfing, sailing, kite surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling and 4WD tours to explore ancient volcanic craters mixing with Polynesian culture and cuisine with French influences.