1. Eco Hotels in Tahiti
When planning your dream trip, you may be picturing the view from your overwater bungalow, considering the dining options, or dreaming of the white sand beach blanketed below your villa. In The Islands of Tahiti, you can find many resorts and hotels offering unsurpassed views and world-class amenities. These resorts are also committed to eco tourism in Tahiti through sustainability and ongoing efforts to protect and preserve the marine environments and local communities.
2. Tahiti
The Te Moana Tahiti Resort Hotel is committed to respecting and preserving the environment through sustainable practices. The complex is committed to reducing the volume of waste and a ‘green team’ actively oversees its sustainable development. The Te Moana Resort adheres to the EarthCheck program for environmental and sustainable practices and is obtaining its Benchmark Bronze accreditation.
The Te Moana Tahiti Resort
The Fare Reserve is the natural protected habitat for marine wildlife created by The InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa. The reserve shelters a coral ecosystem which recreates natural underwater conditions for more than 200 species, including parrotfish, Picasso triggerfish and angelfish. The hotel also supports local communities by offering local handicraft in its boutiques and local Tahitian entertainment.
3. Moorea
Since 2006, the Manava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea has been working with the nonprofit organization To’A Nui on a program to preserve the coral reef close to the hotel. They have installed a ‘coral nursery’ where samples of coral that have been snapped off can be
replanted and left to grow in a protected environment. The resort has also been awarded the Silver Label by EarthCheck and the ‘Bronze Turtle’, a local prize awarded to establishments that adopt selective sorting of waste.
4. Bora Bora & Taha’a
Sustainable travel in Bora Bora begins with selecting the right resorts for your stay. With the aim of preserving and protecting the exceptional diving conditions in The Islands of Tahiti, Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts and Le Taha’a by Pearl Resorts hotels have joined the Biorock program with Espace Bleu. The Biorock technique uses solar electricity to activate the recalcification process of damaged coral. Once the coral has matured sufficiently, biologists reintroduce it into its natural habitat to replenish the reef and coral gardens. The coral gardens at many resorts play a vital role in providing habitat and biodiversity in the lagoon.
A coral garden in The Islands of Tahiti
The Conrad Bora Bora Nui practices inclusive and sustainable tourism. One of its principal actions has been its partnership with Manta Trust for the protection of manta rays in French Polynesia. Encounters with manta rays and other animals in Tahiti are a memorable part of any visit to The Islands of Tahiti.
A manta ray in The Islands of Tahiti
The Conrad Bora Bora Nui has also adopted a recycling process to reduce food wastage. This environmentally friendly approach is evident in the installation of solar panels on all of the 114 villas and suites in the resort, as well as in the installation of 17 biorock coral frames to help fight against coral mortality and boost the natural marine repopulation of the coral reef.
Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora (and the other Maitai hotels located on Huahine, Rangiroa and eventually Tahiti) are committed to preserving the environment. They were the first Tahitian hotels to enroll in the environment and social control program EarthCheck. By obtaining the Platinum Label, the Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora was rewarded for its efforts in sustainable tourism. These include an optimal energy management system, selective waste sorting (metal, plastic, glass etc.), and more.
The Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora ensures the development of sustainable and social initiatives through several ecological initiatives, for example the resort uses solar panels to produce electricity up to 15% of its consumption and hot water for 80% of consumption per room. The sea water is also desalinated through an osmosis machine, which ensures the production of reusable water for the consumption of the resort. The use of single-use plastic is also prohibited throughout the resort. The hotel staff is committed to signing a charter of good ecological practices in order to obtain certifications such as the “Golden Turtle” which rewards the treatment and recovery of waste in French Polynesia and is also a partner of WiseOceans, an international company working for the conservation and education of the marine environment. This partnership ensures the development of “The Lagoon Sanctuary Project”, one of the largest coral restoration projects on the island of Bora Bora.
The Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora
At The St Regis Bora Bora, a program called Natura Ora, groups together several different projects, including waste management, and the reutilization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Waste (EEEW), in partnership with the charitable organization Vai Ma Noa. Other actions include the ‘Earth Hour’ and a ‘Clean Up Day’, which is held every six months in partnership with the diving club Eleuthera Bora Diving.
5. Other Islands
The Brando, an eco-luxury resort on the private island of Tetiaroa, is a leader in sustainable tourism in The Islands of Tahiti. It was the first hotel in the world to obtain LEED Platinum certification due to the quality of its buildings and the utilization of sustainable materials, but also thanks to innovative practices in the field of sustainable development, such as energy efficiency, water management and treatment, and the conservation and preservation of the environment. This includes one of the very first seawater air conditioning systems (SWAC), the hotel’s solar panel installations, the waste and wastewater treatment center, and the biological vegetable garden complete with its own beehives. The island is also home to The Tetiaroa Society which is a nonprofit dedicated to education and scientific research.
The Brando in Tetiaroa
The island of Motu Nao Nao, near Taha’a and Raiatea, is committed to improving the sustainability of its services and putting its partners and guests at the heart of its strategy for sustainable development. This commitment includes the installation of solar panels, which produce 80% of the hotel’s electricity consumption, and the selective sorting of waste.
The local wildlife is also part of this commitment, as exemplified by the surveillance and protection program for the egg-laying of turtles. The role of the local community is essential to the sustainable development of the hotel, so local employment is preferred where possible, and regular training courses help the career advancement of the employees.
