29 Oct 2010

Cruise ships boon for American Samoa

2:35 pm on 29 October 2010

The American Samoa Visitor's Bureau says the two cruise ships that called into the Port of Pago Pago this month was excellent for the local economy.

More than 4,000 passengers and crew members from the Sapphire Princess and MS Volendam cruise ships stopped in Tutuila.

However, the Bureau's executive director David Vaeafe says there is not enough capacity for taxi and buses to accommodate one-day visitors, especially such a large group arriving on two cruise ships.

This has led to allegations that some taxi drivers and bus drivers overcharged some tourists by 200 percent and more.