Holidaymakers should avoid wearing skimpy swimwear on public beaches in the Pacific Islands, an academic says. (file image) Photo: AFP/SERGIO PITAMITZ
Tourists should avoid wearing skimpy swimwear on Pacific Island beaches, regardless of an airline campaign implying they can do otherwise, an academic says.
This week, an Air New Zealand press release titled 'G string lovers rejoice' encouraged people to enjoy a "cheeky adventure" in the islands.
"Whether you're packing light or prefer full coverage, the Pacific is calling this summer."
It pointed to additional capacity on flights to Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Rarotonga and Tahiti.
The airline went on to advise holidaymakers to "remember the age-old undies/togs debate and keep your itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini to the beach or pool".
The campaign came after a New Plymouth mother started a petition for G-strings to be banned at public swimming pools.
Massey University professor Regina Scheyvens studies the Pacific and how tourism can benefit island nations. She said many of the Pacific Islands were "strongly Christian, and in many cases, they have strong views" on what was appropriate for tourists, both male and female, to wear.
That included on public beaches, she added.
Massey University professor Regina Scheyvens. Photo: Supplied
"They're happy for people to be in swimwear on beaches but I think they could be quite offended by the idea that tourists think they can wear very teeny tiny swimwear.
"If you're within the enclave of a tourism resort and that is distinct from a local community or village then that's one thing. But if you are parading around in really brief gears in public spaces, you have to be aware that that's not very respectful of most Pacific cultures."
Scheyvens said Pacific nations had "worked really hard" to present a particular image of themselves as tourist destinations.
"For sure they're selling you their beaches, they're selling you their palm trees, they're selling you the warmth of their climate and their people. But they are very conservative when it comes to standards of dress in public and respect for people in public. I think they could find this campaign a little bit exploitative."
For hundreds of years people in the Pacific, especially women, had been objectified by outsiders, from famous painters to writers to photographers, she added.
"They feel like they have been sexualised in inappropriate ways. They really want to have tourism and they really want to have mutual respect [between] tourists and Pacific peoples.
"If tourists are within own enclaves and deciding on standards of swimwear there, that's fine, but if they're on public beaches, in public places, they've got to be very careful as you should in any country, to respect the cultural norms. We are guests in somebody else's country."
Scheyvens said those rules were not just for women, as the length of men's shorts or swimwear could also offend. "I've been to enough European beaches where the men have interesting types of swimwear as well,"
Air New Zealand's chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said in a statement that the campaign was a "tongue-in-cheek response" to the New Plymouth mother's petition.
"We support anyone who wants to be a beach bum, whether it's an itsy bitsy bikini, or a speedo."
Geraghty did not respond to questions about whether the campaign was an appropriate way to market the Pacific Islands.
However, her statement differed slightly from the airline's original press release, encouraging travellers to keep their "swimsuit" - rather than their "itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini" - to the beach or pool.