Samoa prepares for record season
By: Katrina Archer and Bruce Piper, Cruise Weekly

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Samoa is bracing itself for unprecedented cruise passenger arrivals.

Samoa is expecting a 100% increase in both vessels and cruise visitors in 2009. With the recent upgrading of the Matautu wharf facilities in the capital of Apia, even the world's largest cruise ships can now tie up, as demonstrated when the Queen Victoria visited in February.

This year's roll also includes the Saga Rose, Amsterdam, Spirit of Oceanus, MS Europa, MS Amadea, Pacific Dawn, Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Clipper Pacific and Star Princess, with several ships making multiple visits.

The increase in vessels and numbers equates to more than double last year's figures for Samoa (population 180,000).

Dwayne Bentely, marketing and promotions manager of Samoa Tourism Authority, attributed the surge to "vigorous marketing and promotion by various government and industry bodies over the last few years at various international trade shows, such as Seatrade."

Ross Couper, of Carnival Australia, cited Samoa's new facilities as a major attraction as well as the "fantastic scenery and culture, enticing tours and the unique destination."

Whether buying or selling a cruise product, the inclusion of Samoa is a strong point in any itinerary, he said.

This year's skyrocketing statistics are a far cry from as recently as 2007 when Samoa missed out on the cruising boom in the South Pacific.

While Australia and New Zealand embraced cruising, people's holidays were becoming shorter and most cruise lines preferred to sail to islands closer to home, such as Fiji and New Caledonia.

Although only slightly further away, Samoa was overlooked, according to Euromonitor report released this year.

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