Nelson Lévy (~1949 – June 3, 2007) was a leading figure in French Polynesia

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and the founding head of

Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui is the flag carrier of the Overseas France, French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia, with its head office and daily operations office in Faʻaʻā, Tahiti. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a Intern ...

, the

national airline A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

Career

Levy originally began reporting as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

in the 1970s. However, Levy soon changed careers and began working in French Polynesia's booming

tourism industry Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. In January 1992 Levy took over the

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

as head of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Tourism Promotion Office, which was the French Polynesia's main tourism

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and information agency. Levy helped transform the office into the present day GIE Tahiti Tourisme. Tahiti Tourism is based in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...

and currently operates a worldwide promotional and

advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

called, Tahiti and Her Islands. Levy left Tahiti Tourisme in August 1998 to become the first

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Air Tahiti Nui. Levy helped found

in 1996 as French Polynesia's international airline. The airline launched its first international flights in 1998, the same year that Levy became Air Tahiti Nui's first

. Levy helped to guide the international expansion of the airline while CEO and earned a reputation for his managerial efficiency. As CEO of Air Tahiti Nui, Levy was recognised in 2003 by

Travel Agent Magazine ''Travel Agent'' is a biweekly trade magazine, published by Questex, LLC and targeted at travel agency professionals, featuring travel industry news. It is based in New York City. History and profile The magazine was established in 1930. In 1998 ...

as "Manager of the Year" in the

Asia Pacific Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

region. Levy was very well connected in the tourism industry, as well as in French Polynesian politics. Levy was a prominent supporter of the Tahoeraa Huiraatira Party, a pro-French political party which opposes independence for French Polynesia from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was replaced as CEO of the airline when the coalition of pro-independence parties led by

Oscar Temaru Oscar Manutahi Temaru (born November 1, 1944) is a Tahitian politician. He has been the president of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from 2007 to 2008, in 2009, and from 2011 to ...

took power in a surprise election victory. However, Levy returned to the board of directors of Air Tahiti Nui following the 2005 presidential election win of French Polynesian President

Gaston Tong Sang Gaston Tong Sang (born 7 August 1949 in Bora Bora) is a French Polynesian politician and is the former President of French Polynesia. He served terms as President of French Polynesia from November 2009 until April 2011, from April 2008 until Fe ...

, a pro-French candidate from the Tahoeraa Huiraatira Party. Sang asked Levy back to help revive the ailing airline, which was suffering from "recurrent" financial shortfalls and problems. (The Government of French Polynesia is a 61.7%

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

in the airline.) Additionally, Levy also served as head of the local French Polynesian post and

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

company, OPT. Levy's last tourism venture was the June 1, 2007, launch of ''easyTahiti.com'', a specialist travel

web site A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, ...

for

and other French Polynesian islands. EasyTahiti.com has been described as "Tahiti's biggest virtual travel agency" in a

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

from Air Tahiti Nui.

Death

Nelson Levy died unexpectedly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on June 3, 2007, at his home in Tahiti, just two days after the official

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

of easyTahiti.com. Levy had hosted

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

for employees of easyTahiti.com at his home just hours before his death. His funeral took place in

Papeete, Tahiti Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Pa ...

on June 6, 2007. Levy was survived by his wife, Vaea, and two daughters, Vaiarava and Poerava.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Nelson 2007 deaths Airline founders French Polynesian businesspeople Businesspeople in tourism Chief executives in the airline industry People from Tahiti Year of birth uncertain 1940s births

Career

Death

See also

References