Sport and Tourism: Tahiti (Polynesia) as Case Study

This chapter investigates the relationship between sport and tourism in Tahiti and the Society Islands (French Polynesia). In other words, it sets out to analyse the development and key issues surrounding tourism practices and services related to sport, by studying their increase in recent decades, the sectors and stakeholders concerned, the role of public policies, as well as the barriers to uptake. Although Tahiti may not appear to be a major destination for sports tourism (for various reasons that will be explained below), the economic, social, and environmental questions that it raises are nevertheless of interest and an opportunity to examine some contemporary issues shaping tourism in general in Tahiti.