15 Aug 2016

Samoa celebrates increase in visitor arrivals

7:05 pm on 15 August 2016

Samoa has seen an increase in visitor arrivals.

Tropical Samoan resort with clear blue waters, white sand and coconut palms

Tropical Samoan resort with clear blue waters, white sand and coconut palms Photo: Copyright: zstockphotos / 123RF Stock Photo

For January to March 2016 there was a 12.1 percent more tourists across all market streams compared to the same period in 2015.

In total there were 30,049 visitor arrivals, with New Zealand and the US performing strongly with increases of 31 percent and 50 percent respectively.

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Photo: RNZ

The Samoa Tourism Authority said holiday figures bucked the trend with a 27 percent increase despite global warnings regarding the Zika virus threat.

The Authority's CEO Papalii Sonja Hunter said Australia remains steady as a visitor source with 6,189 visitors recorded for the first quarter, a figure similar to that in 2015.

She said the figures demonstrate visitor confidence thanks to excellent market campaigns.

Catholic Cathedral in Apia in Samoa. church, christian

Catholic Cathedral in Apia in Samoa Photo: RNZI/ Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia

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