Samoa is telling the world it's a safe destination.
Samoa is telling the world it's a safe destination.
KEY POINTS:
Samoa is promoting itself as a safe and stable tourist destination in the wake of the Fiji coup and recent Tongan riot.
The Samoan Tourism Authority has put out a release to travel agents and the public saying it is "proud" to remind everyone of its socio-political stability.
"Samoa is unaffected by the unfortunate unrest in some other South Pacific countries, and visitors to Samoa can be assured of theirsafety and comfort," the releasereads.
Sala Pio, the authority's marketing manager, told the Herald it was necessary to remind tourists that Samoa was a safe destination compared with some of the other countries in the region.
"People lump us together, especially those who do not know much about the Pacific region ... We have to do something."
Mr Pio said there had been some criticism of the campaign, including from a Fijian travel agent who worked in the United States.
"He said we were sort of cashing in on the misfortunes of Fiji."
The Fiji Visitors Bureau in Nadi declined to comment on the Samoan strategy. Tony Everitt, chief executive of South Pacific Tourism in Suva, also refused to comment because he had not seen the release.
Mr Everitt said he was busy checking up on tourism providers on Viti Levu where occupancy rates had fallen in the past fortnight.
He said it was difficult to get a handle on numbers, and noted Fiji had in the past three years enjoyed a boom in tourism.
"We are hoping the situation will stabilise - historically things have bounced back."
