©Family outing Bourail 2|SUGAR PHOTOGRAPHIE

Our Priority Markets and Target Audiences

For decades, the bulk of New Caledonia’s international tourist traffic has been based on a few key markets: mainland France,Australia, New Zealand, Japan (until 2024) and our overseas neighbours (Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia). While seeking to diversify into other countries in Asia, Europe and North America, Nouvelle-Calédonie Tourisme is particularly targeting these emitting markets, which already benefit from genuine geographical proximity (direct flights) or cultural proximity (historical links), by devoting its promotional resources and actions to them as a matter of priority.

Hexagonal France

©Sugar photographie, Jerome Emeriaud, cocktail, voyage, Ile des Pins, new caledonia, le meridien|SUGAR PHOTOGRAPHIE

As the archipelago’s leading outbound market and the source of more than ⅓ of our tourists (by air), mainland France mechanically maintains strong links with one of its overseas territories despite the distance of more than 17,000 km. This is why a large proportion of our frequent flyer customers are affinity tourists (who have come to visit their nearest and dearest), with an average stay of over a month. Autonomous when it comes to organising their trips, they plan their holidays well in advance, favouring the July and October-December periods and not hesitating to explore the entire archipelago on a road trip.

Key figures

Number of tourists

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Seasonality

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Reasons for staying

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

French priority targets

Frequent travellers: 35-65 years old / Couples or individuals (without children or with grown-up children) / Travellers from upper-income brackets, curious and experienced, in search of authenticity.
Passionate adventurers: 25-55 years old / Couples without children / Sporty, intrepid and passionate travellers (marketing niches).
Caledonian affinity: 30-55 years old / Families or couples / Travellers already linked to the destination (with family or friends or a strong local experience).

See the France market data sheet*.

* Detailed content reserved for NCT members

Australia

©Grotte Du Diable Lifou Marine Reveilhac 2034 02 19|Mola Mola

New Caledonia’s historic 2nd market is its gigantic neighbour Australia. Located less than 3 hours by air / 3 days by sea from its east coast, New Caledonia is naturally popular with a huge number of cruise passengers and more and more tourists flying in from Australia. The latter, leaving from major cities such as Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, prefer leisure breaks of around 9 days, during their school holiday periods (December-January, April and September), still largely via the travel agency networks.

Key figures

Number of tourists

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Seasonality

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Reasons for staying

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Australian priority targets

Connectors: 25-44 years old / Families with young children / Sociable travellers and people from higher socio-professional backgrounds looking for experiences to share with their loved ones.
Discernists: 55-75 years old / Senior couples without children / Affluent travellers looking for relaxation and comfort.
Immersive Adventurists: 35-44 years old / Young singles / Travellers looking for thrills, authentic encounters and original discoveries.
Nature Lovers: 25-44 years old / Young couples / Curious and organised travellers attracted by nature and culture.

See Australia market data sheet*

*Detailed content for NCT members only

New Zealand

©Fare Massage Le Meridien Idp Marine Reveilhac 2028 10 02|Marine Reveilhac

A relatively isolated tourist market in the South Pacific, but geographically close to New Caledonia, New Zealand’s travel patterns are rather similar to those of neighbouring Australia. However, this clientele is slightly older (30-59 years) and more focused on beaches and quiet activities in the great outdoors. They too opt for leisure breaks of around 9 days, but concentrated in August, July and September-October, using both travel agencies and direct bookings.

Key figures

Number of tourists

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Seasonality

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Reasons for staying

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

New Zealand priority targets

Discernists: 55-75 years old / Senior couples without children / Affluent travellers who prefer relaxation and comfort.
Connectors: 25-44 years old / Families with young children / Sociable travellers and people from higher socio-professional backgrounds looking for experiences to share with their loved ones.
Nature Lovers: 25-44 years old / Young couples / Curious and organised travellers, attracted by nature and culture.
Immersive Adventurists: 35-44 years old / Young singles / Travellers looking for thrills, authentic encounters and original discoveries.

See the New Zealand market fact sheet*

* Detailed content reserved for NCT members

Japan

©Ile Des Pins Ayako Kozono Nct 2 4|Ayako KOZONO

Japan has long been New Caledonia’s second-largest tourist market, until the covid crisis led to a significant drop in traffic and the suspension of direct flights in October 2024. Despite this, New Caledonia still enjoys a strong reputation among the Japanese, with sales networks and promotional tools that are still active. Well known for its top-of-the-range short breaks, concentrated around Golden Week (early May), O-Bon (mid-August) and New Year’s Eve (late December), located in Noumea and the Île des Pins or Ouvéa, and mostly booked through traditional travel agencies, this Japanese clientele has tended to diversify in recent years with the arrival of more independent travellers (35% FIT) with more adventurous and diverse profiles.

Key figures

Number of tourists

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Seasonality

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Reasons for staying

(Source: ISEE, 2023)

Japanese priority targets

Seniors: 40-60 years old / Well-to-do senior couples, without dependent children, looking for relaxation and security.
Honeymooners: 30-35 years old / Young couples on their honeymoon looking for a seaside paradise.
Young Women: 30-40 years old / Groups of independent young women looking for a change of scenery, active but safe activities with friends.
Multi-generational families: Extended families with grandparents, parents and children who prefer friendly, accessible group activities.
Language students: Young Francophiles on immersive stays to learn French.

See the market data sheet for Japan*.

* Detailed content reserved for NCT members

Other diversification markets

Obviously, apart from these priority markets, New Caledonia attracts smaller numbers of travellers from all over the world for a variety of reasons: business, affinity, passion for an outdoor activity, etc. Representing around ¼ of its international travellers, they come mainly from 3 major customer basins:

South-East Asia: With direct air links via Singapore and Bangkok only a few years old, ASEAN offers real development potential for New Caledonian tourism. This is why NCT is investing to gradually approach its diversification markets, with Singapore in the lead, by relying on their niche clienteles (divers, Francophiles, etc.) and by playing the originality card, while being well aware of the high standards of their clienteles and a very strong competitive offer.
The long-haul markets of Europe and North America: Western European countries, the USA and Canada each attract around 500 to 1,500 travellers a year to the archipelago, despite the constraints of accessibility, thanks to their strong purchasing power and longer holiday periods. Apart from a minority of business travellers in specialised technical fields, these inquisitive travellers, attracted by our niche marketing, are generally true enthusiasts of nature, a specific sporting activity (fishing, kitesurfing, long-distance hiking, etc.) and in search of a cultural change of scene.
The islands of the South Pacific: Despite a lower purchasing power, New Caledonia’s geographical proximity to its neighbours in Oceania has led to close ties. This leads to a natural flow of business, affinity, health and student tourists, firstly from the other French overseas territories (Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia) and then from nearby Vanuatu and Fiji.

See the Singapore market data sheet*.304KB

* Detailed content reserved for NCT members

Find out more

To find out more about our visitor statistics and customer profiles, take a look at our Tourism Observatory.

Tourism Observatory