Air Calédonie agency building at the small airport terminal of Lifou in flames on the morning of 5 October 2023. Photo: NC la 1ère
Analysis - New Caledonia's visitor arrivals are returning to pre-Covid levels, but the rebound is being hampered by domestic tensions.
Tourism and hospitality stakeholders have welcomed the French Pacific destination's latest arrival statistics showing that for the first six months of 2023, 54,184 visitors (not including cruise ships) have arrived.
Extrapolated figures to end of August this year even predict a cumulated 76,080 visitors, which nearly equals the total of 79,900 arrivals for the whole of 2022.
The main source markets for New Caledonia remained, for the first six months of 2023, mainland France (16,396 arrivals, +12 percent compared to pre-Covid 2019), Australia (13,853 arrivals, +29 percent) and New Zealand (5,077 arrivals, +33 percent), latest statistics show.
Other notable contributors to the flow towards New Caledonia were, to a lesser extent, visitors from Wallis and Futuna (4,191 arrivals, +28 percent compared to 2019), French Polynesia (1,871 arrivals, +17 percent) and neighbouring Vanuatu (1,473 arrivals, -15 percent).
Nouvelle-Calédonie Tourisme chief executive Julie Laronde told local media Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes those figures were "historic" in a post-Covid context and "augur well" for the future, especially as several regional connections were scheduled to be revived and some inaugurated.
Routes to open or re-open
From Australia, the Nouméa-Melbourne link, which was shut down due to the Covid pandemic, is scheduled to resume early December, she said.
Other regional routes are scheduled to be inaugurated shortly.
Earlier this month, Fiji was the guest of honour at a 3-day "Pacific Fair" trade show held in Nouméa.
Organisers said this was in recognition of Fiji's potential for expanded and closer trade relations, but also largely of its expertise and success in terms of tourism arrivals.
The most noticeable presence at Fiji's booth in Nouméa this year was international carrier Fiji Airways promoting its soon-to-be introduced bi-weekly Nadi-Nouméa Fiji Airways direct connection at very attractive prices.
The new route is scheduled to launch on November 30, opening more connection opportunities for New Caledonia's travellers to Fiji, but also North American, European and Asian destinations via the regional Fiji hub, following a recent slot agreement with New Caledonia's Air Calédonie International.
But as international arrivals rebound, domestic air travel within New Caledonia can prove bumpy for foreign tourists wanting to visit places outside the capital Nouméa, including the main island Grande Terre and its outer Loyalty Island group (North-east).
For those internal air connections, they have to travel on domestic carrier Air Calédonie.
Tensions on domestic strips
And on this domestic front, turbulences have recently resurfaced: in September and October, Air Calédonie had to cancel flights to three of its outer islands' popular destinations.
This was due to a one-month blockade by groups of angry local passengers on the small domestic airports of Lifou, Maré (both in Loyalty Islands group) and the Isle of Pines (South of Nouméa).
Saying their protest was motivated by a perceived excessive price for domestic inter-island tickets, they took the matter into their own hands.
The blockades lasted over September and early October, before regular flights could be restored after much negotiations and calls for calm by three local community High chiefs.
The crisis peaked when during the blockade, one Air Calédonie agency building at the small airport terminal of Lifou was severely damaged by a nightly fire on 4 October.
Public prosecutor Yves Dupas said that several burnt tyres were found amidst the airline's building charred remains and that on that basis, investigations seem to point to a criminal motive.
Four individuals have since been arrested and have already appeared before a local criminal court.
One of them is facing arson charges and has been remanded in custody pending a verdict on the matter mid-November.
Recent airport blockades: $US1.5 million in loss of revenue
Air Calédonie, which employs over three hundred staff, said the blockades had caused a loss of revenue to the tune of $US1.5 million over the one-month period.
At an urgent shareholders' meeting convened last week, CEO Mathias Waneux said the domestic airline's short-term operation ability and viability were now at risk and that should the airline face another wave of blockades, it would not be able to survive financially and would probably have to shut down operations.
He told local media an application will be lodged with a local trade tribunal for a special authorisation to reschedule the payment of Air Calédonie's already substantial debts.