The head of Tahiti Tourism says it wants to focus its business on the way visitors are welcomed in French Polynesia rather than the promotion of over-water bungalows.
Teva Janicaud says the culture is what set the territory apart from competitors such as the Seychelles and the Maldives.
His comments were made in Paris as Tahiti has seen its visitor numbers drop last year by more than four percent over 2009.
Last year, there were 154,000 visitors after a decade of decline from about 250,000 tourists 10 years ago.
