Mr. Bessou moved to Tahiti in 1981 and became actively involved in the Polynesian tourism community. He served as general manager of the Tahiti Beachcomber Parkroyal for seven years and as president of the Hyatt Regency Tahiti for two years. He has owned and operated five companies: Tahiti Nui Travel (since 1988), Tahiti Tours (since 1991), Tekura Tahiti Travel (since 1994) and South Pacific Management (since 1988). He was also the owner, founder and general manager of Tahiti Magazine (from 1984 to 2005), a bilingual magazine for the French Polynesian tourism market.
His extensive experience has been recognized with a number of awards, including Tourism Man of the Year (1985) from the Tahiti Chamber of Commerce, Businessman of the Year (1986) and Manager of the Year (1987) from the South Pacific Hotel Corporation. He was a member for many years of the board of directors of the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), Air Tahiti Nui, the Social Security Fund (CPS) of French Polynesia and GIE Tahiti Tourisme, as well as the National Union of Travel Agencies (SNAV), the US Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Japan Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies (JATOA). In addition, he was President of the French Polynesia Travel Agencies Union.
Mr. Bessou continues to own and operate South Pacific Management, which currently manages the Manava Hotels in Tahiti and Moorea and the Nukutepipi Atoll and has owned the Manava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea since February 2020.
