Tourism in French Polynesia
French Polynesia recorded a total of 300,000 tourists in 2019, ranking 171st in the world in absolute terms.That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of French Polynesia, the result is much more comparable picture: With 1.1 tourists per resident, French Polynesia ranked 68th in the world. In Polynesia, it ranked 1st.
French Polynesia generated around 782.00 m US Dollar in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 22.68 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 78 percent of all international tourism receipts in Polynesia.
A global comparison can be found here › International tourism
Back to overview: French Polynesia
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2016 spent about 2,841 US Dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of French Polynesia spend as much as 4,122 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in French Polynesia from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in French Polynesia each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g. crew members of ships or flights are also not considered as tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.The red line represents the average of all 5 countries in Polynesia.

Revenues in tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 326.00 m USD, or about 8.2 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 186,000 tourists at that time and roughly 1,753 USD per person. Within 4 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. In the last year of the survey, the revenue now amounts to 394.00 m USD, accounting for 10.38 percent of the gross national product. Each visitor now spends an average of 1,669 USD for his holiday in French Polynesia.
All data for French Polynesia in detail
Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP | Income |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | 300,000 | |||
2018 | 264,000 | |||
2017 | 254,000 | |||
2016 | 241,000 | 782.00 m $ | 3,245 $ | |
2015 | 239,000 | 758.00 m $ | 3,172 $ | |
2014 | 228,000 | 835.00 m $ | 3,662 $ | |
2013 | 214,000 | 746.00 m $ | 3,486 $ | |
2012 | 210,000 | 720.00 m $ | 3,429 $ | |
2011 | 196,000 | 725.00 m $ | 3,699 $ | |
2010 | 179,000 | 630.00 m $ | 3,520 $ | |
2009 | 190,000 | 618.00 m $ | 3,253 $ | |
2008 | 227,000 | 737.00 m $ | 3,247 $ | |
2007 | 243,000 | 537.00 m $ | 2,210 $ | |
2006 | 222,000 | 463.00 m $ | 2,086 $ | |
2005 | 208,000 | 759.00 m $ | 3,649 $ | |
2004 | 212,000 | 737.00 m $ | 3,476 $ | |
2003 | 213,000 | 651.00 m $ | 3,056 $ | |
2002 | 189,000 | 471.00 m $ | 2,492 $ | |
2001 | 228,000 | |||
2000 | 252,000 | |||
1999 | 236,000 | 394.00 m $ | 10.38 % | 1,669 $ |
1998 | 211,000 | 354.00 m $ | 9.4 % | 1,678 $ |
1997 | 201,000 | 345.00 m $ | 9.7 % | 1,716 $ |
1996 | 184,000 | 322.00 m $ | 8.1 % | 1,750 $ |
1995 | 186,000 | 326.00 m $ | 8.2 % | 1,753 $ |
All data correspond to the information of the World Tourism Organization.