Travel Everyday Giving Back Responsibly
Tahitian Life Force… We call it Mana
Travel Everyday Giving Back Responsibly
Discover here, your unique itinerary on how you can give back to Tahiti and still travel awesomely! Let our Mana guide you through your extraordinary trip through Tahiti and Her Islands! You can still enjoy traveling and respect sustainable tourism!
“There is one drawing force, one cultural theme that guides everyone in the private and public sectors throughout our treasured islands and that is what we call Mana. Mana will give you all that you need to feel protected, taken care of, nurtured and our responsibility is to give it back to nature, to the environment, to the ecology.“
Soon you’ll be on your way!
However, as a responsible traveler and understanding that now is the time to be proactive in sustainable tourism, you ask yourself, “How can I give back to the country I am visiting?”
Well first things first, how about packing in your suitcase the following items? This way you reduce and reuse!
As the founder, Hélène, said, “Thanks to our little, natural Polynesian sunscreen stick, we hope even at our small scale, to contribute making French Polynesia an innovative overseas territory, aware of 2 environmentally important issues being lagoon conservation and waste management.”
Slow Tourism, giving back to the Tahitian Community!
But how can you do this while traveling through our magnificent islands?
Well it starts first on the island of Tahiti with our devoted partner, Unique Tahiti Tours. Tracy, your very own French-English-Tahitian guide, will hand you into the care of the Polynesian people, to discover for yourself their extraordinary kindness, warmth and welcome. The meaning of “Maeva e Manava” comes truly alive at this time! With Tracy, you learn to understand and respect the culture and legends of the Polynesian people and you will be embraced by the Mana that permeates throughout our islands.
And if you are looking for a sustainable way to travel around the island of Tahiti, what could be more fun than grabbing this yellow, electric scooter! All the “Hello Scoot” scooters are recharged in Papeete using solar generated energy!
In Moorea, the number of sustainable tourism initiatives are endless! From the new eco-museum “Te Fare Natura” to the Agricultural School of Opunohu Valley (where you can buy the most scrumptious jams made from the exotic, local fruits), you participate actively in giving back to the community and to better understanding the Polynesian culture.
Furthermore, to protect both land and sea eco-systems, the locals have created such organizations as Coral Gardeners, Ecoreef and the To’a Nui Association, where you too can sponsor and/or plant coral in the underwater nurseries.
And if you are staying in one of the 3 main resorts on the island of Moorea, you can also engage with the resorts’ different sustainable tourism programs!
The Manava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea is Earthcheck certified, Silver level since the team has implemented an Environmental Management System meeting such requirements as saving energy, waste sorting, elimination of single use plastics. The resort also collaborates with the association To’a Nui to nurture and plant coral.
The Sofitel Moorea Kia Ora Beach Resort is equally committed to protecting the coral reef and cooperates closely with EcoReef. The EcoReef program inside the resort allows for guests to discover, learn from a Marine Biologist and even plant corals in the underwater nursery.
The Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa also works hand in hand with EcoReef in inviting its guests to actively participate in regenerating the coral reef surrounding the hotel.
Tahiti Travel Services also lends a hand to protect the underwater world! We work only with the best partners, such as Moorea Ocean Adventures, who respect the environment, the ecological system both on land and sea and promote sustainable tourism. Moorea Ocean Adventures specializes only in private tours with a maximum of 6 guests.
A significant part of Moorea Ocean Adventures actions concerns the preservation of whales throughout the world and particularly in Moorea! Supervised by Matthieu Petit, a Marine Biologist and Waterman Trevor Orth, you swim safely with these majestic sea creatures from July to early November experiencing extraordinary and unforgettable encounters and respecting the liquid environment that surrounds them!
And Tahiti Travel Services protects our land environment and ecology by collaborating closely with Yvette Leon, a Polynesian-Chinese-French lady originally from Nuku Hiva! Throughout the years, Yvette drank from the wisdom of numerous Polynesian elders fine-tuning her knowledge of botany, culture, legends and the geology of our islands. By creating Moorea VIP Tours, Yvette’s dream is to weave close encounters between her guests and the Mana of the island of Moorea, so that they understand the impact of their footprint on our Polynesian environment. Yvette specializes only in small group tours with a maximum of 6 guests.
If there is one place, where it is truly important to respect sustainable tourism, the environment and the ecology, it’s Bora Bora! The Mayor, Gaston Tong Song, highly supports sustainable tourism as demonstrated through a high-tech water recycling system creating clean water, recycling and treating used water. Thanks to this initiative, the lagoon of Bora Bora is certified every single year “Pavillon Bleu” an international tourist and environmental label crediting the lagoon with the highest quality of water.
Further measures undertaken by the Bora Bora Town Hall include sanitation, waste management and organization of the maritime zone for boaters to protect the underwater world.
More so, Gaston Tong Song has prohibited cruise ships with more than 1200 passengers from entering the Bora Bora lagoon.
So how can you give back to the “Mana” in Bora Bora? 2 options:
- by participating in your hotel’s sustainable tourism actions; and
- by choosing tours and excursions that protect the environment and support local employment.
And Tahiti Travel Services has you covered!
Learn more below!
1/- HOTELS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM ACTIONS All 6 of the major resorts in Bora Bora:
- Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts
- Intercontinental Thalasso
- Conrad Bora Bora
- Intercontental Le Moana
- St Régis
- Four Seasons
have outstanding sustainable tourism programs in place covering: waste management, recycling, no plastics, refillable bath products, water treatment, composting, energy saving, solar power, local employment, buy locally, coral reef preservation and the list goes on!
Tahiti Travel Services invites you to discover more about each hotel’s program (found by simply searching on google) so that you may pick the one that suits your choice in sustainable tourism!
| 2/- TOURS AND EXCURSIONS SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM We here at Tahiti Travel Services only collaborate with partner suppliers who truly respect the environment and our Polynesian eco-system. One partner in particular is very pro-active in supporting the Government’s initiative to stop feeding the sharks and sting rays. And that is Moana Adventure Tours! Philippe Hatton, Owner and Mathieu Poujade, General Manager of Moana Adventure Tours are deeply implicated in the conservation of our coral reefs and in marine ecology. Following legislation passed in 2017, Moana Adventure Tours is probably the only supplier in Bora Bora who has stopped the practice of shark and ray feeding. More importantly, they are not exposing their tourist guests to unnecessary dangers. The tours no longer go outside of the reef to swim with the reef sharks as well as the lemon sharks. These professionals have remarked that the lemon sharks behavior has been modified by the feeding and they are more unpredictable. Instead, they are focusing on training their staff to provide a more inclusive and authentic Tahitian experience for their tourist guests through storytelling, legends, sharing of the culture, singing, playing the ukulele. With the rise in awareness of “slow tourism”, “sustainable tourism”, the tourists today are seeking and expecting a different kind of tour and Moana Adventure Tours is providing the answer! Guests will still feel the thrill of swimming with black tip reef sharks and sting rays and these sea creatures will simply show up (or not) on their own accord without any enticement from mankind. |
Yes in dreamy Tikehau, far away from your worries and concerns of everyday life lives an extraordinary man.His name is Denis and he is President of the Tore Tore Association which protects sharks in French Polynesia since 2005. Denis is the consummate waterman, living in the oceans from a young age and breaking records in free diving down to 105 meters!
With his team he worked with the local government to establish the first shark regulation in French Polynesia. Today, French Polynesia is the largest shark sanctuary in the world. He specializes in diving with sharks and particularly the tiger shark. He knows Tikehau perfectly and is always happy to share this beautiful atoll with you.
The shark is a totem animal in the Ma’ohi culture. We believe that protecting sharks is protecting our culture, which is rich in mythology and legends, where our ancestors always protected the sharks. Today 100,000,000 sharks a year are killed to make Chinese shark fin soup and this is a true ecological disaster!
So when in Tikehau, please do your part to better understand sharks, their behavior and that they are not as bad as always made out to be! A private tour with Denis will show just how magnificent these fish are!
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When snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, SUP or scuba diving in the lagoon and ocean:
- Don’t walk on the coral.
- Don’t kick the coral with your fins when snorkeling.
- Pick up any floating plastic you may see in the water.
- Approach all sea creatures with respect for their environment.
- Use reef safe sunscreen without any harmful chemicals
Buy and eat locally:
- Buy the fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other goodies sold on the roadside, at the market or in a store that comes direct from a Tahitian’s garden, plantation or fishing area.
- Definitely don’t refuse to try the “poisson cru”!
- A must do is to experience the ahima’a or a delicious meal cooked in the ground
- Support local businesses and families by visiting the local arts and crafts markets, the biggest being in downtown Papeete where all the local mamas create magic with artistic hands.
- Immerse yourself in our culture and go out to meet the locals over a Hinano beer in a local bar or café.
Miscellaneous other ways to support sustainable tourism:
- Even in hotel and guesthouse rooms, remember to turn off the A/C and the lights when not required and when leaving the room.
- Where possible, sort your trash correctly.
- Save water by turning off the shower when washing hair and soaping your body. When brushing your teeth, washing your hands or face, don’t let the water run.
- Use fans instead of A/C.
- Unplug your chargers when not in use!
- Walk, bicycle or e-bike when exploring the smaller islands instead of renting a car.
Do you have any other ideas?
We would like for your to share them with us !