There has been some positive news in regards to Samoa’s economy as visitor numbers were up and the local economy was boosted through the various international sports events that were hosted by the nation.

An estimated revenue of over SAT$10 million was generated for Samoa's economy from the recent International Va'a Federation (IVF) World Distance Championship.

Thousands of people attended the event in the Samoan capital last week with athletes coming from 29 countries and territories.

These 1000 paddlers came in with families and team management, they stayed in hotels, they hired cars, visited the beautiful sites Samoa has to offer, did shopping in our supermarkets and ate from the various restaurants around Apia.

Everyone involved in the local economy had a share of the pie.

A week or two earlier than that a group of 85 elderly gentlemen were in Samoa for over a week. They came to play cricket and that they did with pleasure.

Similarly, they too travelled with their loved ones, stayed in hotels, hired cars and so on. This is what sports tourism can do for Samoa. While visitor arrivals from conventional tourism methods are slowly gaining momentum, sports tourism has provided a boost.

Sports tourism is a common term now, but it was largely unheard of until around 12 years ago. Sports tourism is a massive industry, and one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism according to the United World Tourism Agency.

According to the Sports Events and Tourism Association (SETA), sports tourism generated over $90 billion dollars in economic impact across the U.S. in 2021.  Sports tourism refers to travel for sporting events to either participate in or observe. Across the world, sports tourism provides communities big and small millions of dollars in economic impact each year.

In a small economy like Samoa’s, sports tourism could be the way to go to boost the economy but it requires government backing.

An example of this is Super Rugby. The 2024 fixtures were announced last week and Samoa is not hosting any games this year, in contrast, neighbours Fiji are hosting seven Super Rugby games. The Super Rugby franchise has the Fijian government funding and so do each of the venues that host the events.

This has resulted in hotels being fully booked in most places in Fiji for the whole week before and after the game. Local businesses are booming with more tourist numbers and everyone indirectly involved with either tourism or the sports sector making some gains. According to figures, each time a Super Rugby game is hosted in Fiji, there is at least $20 million of revenue.

There should be a slighter aggressive approach in asking the team which features more Samoan players to play at least two or three games in Apia each year.

In September more than 400 netball players are travelling to Samoa for a tournament and now with the success of the Va’a championship, there is talk of two events every year in Samoa.

The Samoa Tourism Authority should start working with sporting bodies and promoting such events which are proving to be a game changer for the nation.

The sports tourism industry has grown considerably in recent years. In 2016 the sports tourism industry was worth $1.41 trillion worldwide and this figure increased to approximately $5.72 trillion by 2021. This is a whopping 41 per cent growth in only four years.

The sports tourism industry makes up a significant part of the overall tourism industry. Some people claim that this figure is as high as 25 per cent, meaning that a quarter of all tourism in the world is sports related.

The importance of sports tourism is further emphasised by the media statements from the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which in 2004, announced their commitment to reinforce their partnerships on collaboration in the sports and tourism domain.

They stated that; “Tourism and sport are interrelated and complementary… both are powerful forces for development, stimulating investment in infrastructure projects such as airports, roads, stadiums, sporting complexes and restaurant-projects that can be enjoyed by the local population as well as tourists who come to use them.”

This demonstrates that sports tourism has a wider economic and social impact than simply the sporting occasion itself. It provides social and economic opportunities for the local population, as well as visitors to the area.

The World Bank has stated that the improving tourism sector is the key behind Samoa’s economic recovery and the Central Bank of Samoa has shown this in their latest release.

The opportunity is right in front of us, it is only a question of how well it would be utilised for the benefit of Samoa.

The tourism arrivals for the second quarter of the year were high and with the recent events, the third quarter would definitely show improvement.

Samoa is also looking forward to the direct flights from China which are supposed to start next month.

The formula is not new and it has been tried and tested. Samoa can go a long way if sports tourism is used to help the economy grow.