In the Pacific region and elsewhere in the world, tourism represents a major
alternative for small island nations searching for industries to increase their economic base,
expand foreign exchange earnings, and enhance the standard of living for their people. In
order to address outstanding current and future policy issues related to tourism development in
the Pacific region, the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) of the East-West
Center initiated the "Multinational Corporations in the Pacific Islands Tourism Industry"
research project in 1987. To conduct the study, PIDP contracted the School of Travel
Industry Management (TIM) of the University of Hawaii-Manoa (UHM) to analyze ten
Pacific island destinations grouped by geographical proximity and selected for criteria based on
visitor arrivals and levels of development This study covers the Territory of French
Polynesia.