Samoa Reports Increase in Tourist Numbers

papalii-sonja

The Samoa Tourism Authority has moved to tell the world that visitors are still flocking to the country.

A press release from STA CEO Papalii Sonja Hunter, cites figures from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics showing that from January to March 2016, there was a 12.1% overall increase in visitor arrivals across all market streams compared to the same period in 2015.

There were 30,049 visitor arrivals, with New Zealand and the USA performing strongly with increases of 31% and 50% respectively.

The STA says holiday figures bucked the trend with a 27% increase despite global warnings regarding the Zika Virus threat.

The release says this shows confidence in the measures set in place by the government and properties to protect and safeguard their guests.

The Visiting Friends and Relatives segment also performed well with a 22% increase.

The increased visitor numbers gave the economy a boost with quarterly earnings recording a 14.73% increase buoyed by the strengthening of the US Dollar against the Samoan tala,

STA points out that Australia remains steady as a visitor source with 6,189 visitors recorded for the first quarter, a figure similar to that in 2015.

CEO Papali’i says that the figures demonstrate visitor confidence thanks to the excellent market campaigns conducted in these key source markets.

She says the trust that guests place upon Samoa is a gift that they don’t take lightly, by following through and delivering what the visitor is promised: a safe, healthy and fun holiday experience.

She says Samoa honors that trust which shows in the figures just released.

The reference to Australia counters negative publicity from an incident in which a repeated escaped prisoner raped an Australian woman while her fiance looked on earlier this year.

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