This week, PBN looks at how local firm Group 70 won the bid to master plan a $3 billion Tahiti Mahana Beach Resort, commissioned by the French Polynesian government.
The architect used several local contractors on the project, including Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC. He assisted and provided advisory services on market and economic analyses.
PBN asked him about airlift, and he had some interesting thoughts on the matter.
Tahiti Mahana Beach Resort is on the same island as Papeete, the capital city and the location of the international airport. Most travelers land there but then go to Bora Bora or Moorea. That’s like tourists flying into a Waikiki-less Oahu then flying out to Kauai, Maui or the Big Island. The new resort would be like creating a Waikiki, in terms of its magnetism (the project has none of Waikiki’s concrete jungle density).
“This makes it somewhat the center of gravity, assuming Papeete is Waikiki,” he said. “And certainly the draw there will be the only licensed casino in the state.”