Business Advantage Samoa 2011/2012 - Ministry of Commerce ...

TOURISM INVESTMENTCredit: kirklandphotos.comLalomano Beach on UpoluQuintessentially South PacificSamoa’s tourism sector is emerging from the September 2009 tsunami and global downturn in better shapethan ever.> Beautiful, pristine, safe and friendly> Regular air connections to major markets> Pre-global financial crisis growth returning> Incentives for developers> New properties opening, including from internationaloperatorsIn many ways, Samoa is the quintessential Pacific island destination:its surrounding waters are warm and pristine, its beaches (includingthe iconic Lalomanu Beach, pictured above) white and picturesque,its hinterland spectacular and its climate and culture welcoming. Itspeak season for visitors is between May and October (the ‘dry season’),although visitors come all year round.Tourism has been the big success story of the Samoan economyover the past decade. The country’s largest single source of foreignexchange, the sector has achieving strong, steady growth, particularlysince the commencement in 2005 of flights from Australia and NewZealand to Samoa by Polynesian Blue (the airline jointly owned byAustralia-based Virgin Blue, the Government of Samoa and leadingSamoan hotel and resort operator, Aggie Grey’s).Tourist arrivals have grown alongside a healthy ‘visiting friends andrelatives’ market (many thousands with Samoan roots live outside the‘Tourism development is a high priority forthe Samoan Government, which playsan active role in facilitating overseasinvestment.’country) that helps to sustain regular flights by Polynesian Blue, Air NewZealand, Air Pacific and Polynesian Airlines which now connect Samoato Brisbane and Sydney in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand and alsoFiji and American Samoa.Beyond the tsunami and global downturnThe past 18 months have been harder for the tourism industry, however,largely for reasons beyond Samoa’s control:‘The September 2009 tsunami and the global financial crisis had amajor impact on arrival figures,’ Nynette Sass, Chief Executive Officer ofthe 80-member Samoa Hotel Association, told Business Advantage inDecember 2010. ‘There’s been a slight increase in figures recently [July2010 figures were up by 14%, year-on-year] but it hasn’t been felt onthe ground yet.'The tsunami badly hit operators along the southern coast of themain island of Upolu, several of whom had to rebuild their propertiescompletely or partly (see opposite page), while the global financial crisisaffected tourism arrivals from Samoa’s major markets: the United States,New Zealand and Australia.16