American Samoa is looking to welcome cruise ships back to the territory in early 2023.
KHJ News understands that 18 cruise ships have indicated an interest in making stops in the territory, as part of their South Pacific cruises.
The American Samoa Visitors Bureau had been waiting for approval from the COVID-19 Task Force, before firming up their schedule of cruise ship visits.
Minutes of the Task Force meeting from last month indicate a tentative start date of January, 2023, to resume cruise ship visits to the territory.
Meanwhile, the Director of the American Samoa Visitors Bureau, Taimalelagi Minnie Tuia, attended the meeting of the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) in the Cook Islands.
This is the first time that the SPTO has met since 2019.
A key topic of discussion was SPTO’s transformational positioning as an entity, that is a global leader in sustainable tourism — as part of collective efforts to ensure that by 2030, the region is empowered by and benefiting from tourism that is resilient, prosperous and inclusive.
