A leading Maori tourism provider in New Zealand says the isolation of South Pacific countries can be advantageous.
Mike Tamaki of Tamaki Heritage Experiences wants to launch a concept that would offer tourists the opportunity to experience the diversity of cultures from the region, in New Zealand.
He currently runs a successful tourism business promoting Maori culture in Rotorua, Christchurch and Queenstown.
Mr Tamaki says offering a multi destination package with indigenous people, they could launch a coral route, or tourist trail, across the Pacific region.
"You can really begin to sell stories in the South Pacific in a unique way that hasn't been sold anywhere else in the world, but will require the Pacific islands to work together, rather than see one another as being competitors in opposition with one another. It just requires pulling them altogether."
Mike Tamaki says he will visit Tahiti shortly to discuss the concept with the French Polynesia tourism minister, Jacqui Drollet.