27 Feb 2009

American Samoa needs visitors from NZ and Australia says businesswoman

11:49 am on 27 February 2009

A businesswoman in American Samoa says the Territory needs to entice more visitors from New Zealand and Australia.

The owner of Tradewind Tours, Betty Cavanaugh, says her experience with the cruise ship industry shows that tourists love coming to American Samoa, and the Territory could learn from Samoa's tourism industry.

She says the beauty of the island, the people and the culture are main attractions and she says while visitors do make remarks about garbage, overall they love the slow pace and the friendliness of people.

Ms Cavanaugh says attracting tourists who will stay for a number of days in hotels, spend in restaurants and bars and shop in local stores would require creative marketing and a package that's competitive with neighboring islands.