Tourism
American Samoa Tourism
In American Samoa, fishing and tourism are major industries. The territory’s gross national product is growing about as rapidly as the population as the GNP per capita is one of the highests among the Pacific Isalnds. Fish are caught for processing and canning in American-owned factories and canned tuna accounts for almost all of American Samoa’s export income. The export fotuna is the principal reason that the islands have maintained a blance of trade surplus for so many years. Most of the paved and unpaved roads are located on Tutuila. An interntionap airpot is located on Tutuila and smaller airports operate from Tau and Ofu islands. Pagp Paago is the major port.The territory’s most popular sport is the local version of cricket, known as kirikiti. Village teams from throughout the islands vy for the annual territorial championsih. Rugby is also a favorite sport and enjoyed by tourists as a sporting event to watch. With a team representing the territory in international tournaments, the United States football sport was introduced in the high school in the 1970’s and inter-school games draw large crowds. Baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, golf and tennis are other common sporting events for tourists to enjoy. On the weekends, tourists can find barbeques on the beach and swimming in the shallow lagoons, scuba diving and snorkeling along with land activities like hiking.
A guide is present for most tourists to follow and elarn all they can about the Pacific Isalnds, their people and their traditionas. The tourism trips one can take make sure that during your stay, you enjoy watching the basket weavers make their baskets, the reef fisherman get their daily catch and other traditional forms of American Samoa life is observed.
Traditional arts include siapo, wood carvings on bowls, staff, and fly witch handles, and tatos. The art of creating siapo has recently enjoyed a renaissance and can be observed just by walking through the villages. Wood carving has been preserved through programs for senior citizens and tattooing, at one time banned under the United States Navy administration, has also enjoyed a popular comeback. May men now receive the traiditional pe’a, an intricately designed tattoo covering the torso from mid-bak to the knees. A revival has also occurred in women’s tattoos, called malu, which voer the top of the t hights to the knees. Tourists can watch these tattoos being placed through windows and in open markets.
Singing and dancing are also a big part of celebrations that take part throughout the year. Many tourists have seeen the sasa, which is group dancing involving slapping, clappin and stylized hand, arm and leg movements, much like the Hawiian dancing style. The taualuga, which is performed only on special occasions and only by women require either specific athletic or graceful hand and body movements.
Don’t be afraid to visit the Pacific Isalnds during an American Holiday, because all United States public Christian holidays, such as Christmas and Easter are observed in the territory. Whitesunday, which is the second Sunday in October, honors children and involves really long church services, children’s plays and a lot of eating. Also held in Octover is the Moso’oi festival, names after the flower moso’oi which is a plant. The week-long festivities make it an ideal time to visit the island. These include sports competitions like long-boat racing, kirikiti and rugby as well as cultural demonstrations, and displays of ulumoeaga, siapo and other arts. Villages put on plays and provide singing and dancing performances for visitors. Flag day, which in American Samoa is in April (on the 17th) commemorates the first raising of the United States flag on the islands in 1900. The months of October and November are marked by the swarm of the Palolo, which is a coral worm that appears on the reef during the final phases of the moon’s monthly cycle. People gather on reefs with lanterns, canoes and nets to capture the delicacy. This provides a wonderful feast for tourists and some are allowed to participate in the hunt.
There are Museums in historic villages and Marine Sanctuary tours that are exotic tourism attractions. The ethnobotonical plants and the history of the Samoan medicines used to heal family members before the intervention of Western medical practices can also be explored with a guided tour on the islands. Viewing the canneries and tuna plants, the Tisa’s Alega Waterfall and the hiking treks around the American Samoa National Park round off the many tourists’ activities that await you on the Pacific Isalnds. Don’t forget the peaceful and quiet sandy beaches along the coast. Whatever you’re looking for, the Pacific Island of American Samoa has it.