Samoa Tourism Authority appoints Thrive as its PR agency to ramp up local marketing efforts
The Samoa Tourism Authority (STA) is ramping up its marketing efforts in Australia and New Zealand, appointing Thrive as its local public relations agency and launching a campaign to drive interest in future international travel to the nation.
Thrive will be supporting the rollout of the integrated campaigns in Australia and New Zealand and fostering long-term tourism growth and investment.
The Samoa Tourism Authority is preparing for international travel
Samoa has not recorded any cases of COVID-19 so far, and whilst being cautious about reopening its borders to international travel, STA CEO Fa’amatuainu Lenatai Suifua, remains optimistic about welcoming Australians to the country.
“We remain committed to establishing a travel bubble with Australia as soon as it can be safely done. Our principal concern is to ensure the health of Australians and Samoans is protected,” he said.
“Once travel recommences, health considerations will be at the forefront of all that we do and issues such as insurance, quarantine and testing measures will be agreed upon with the Australian Government.”
Tourism is the biggest industry in Samoa’s economy. Last year it attracted 160,000 tourists and one in five of those was Australian.
The campaign kicking off in Australia is titled ‘Beauty is Timeless’ and communicates to tourists that they will still have a beautiful destination to look forward to in Samoa when international travel becomes available again.
Fa’amatuainu reflected on the challenges the tourism industry has faced.
“It’s been a challenging few months, however, our aiga of operators remain in positive spirits. It’s been inspiring to see their resilience and we’re all excited to welcome back our favourite neighbours,” he said.
“We want to see tourists return as soon as possible, and as Australia is planning, we’re working hard to become part of the Pacific travel bubble.”
Thrive founder and managing director, Leilani Abels, has a personal connection to the account.
“Thrive is thrilled to be supporting Samoa’s tourism recovery efforts in ANZ. As one of the few COVID-19 free nations in the world, it’s certainly a pivotal time for the island jewel to showcase its stunning natural assets and rich traditional culture,” she said.
“Having Samoan heritage myself, I’ve been fortunate to spend plenty of time with their incredibly warm and friendly locals, experiencing the authentic culture, and exploring everything from their untouched rainforests to spectacular hidden waterholes, so having Thrive join the STA aiga (family) is a truly special opportunity for the agency.”
The campaign video was produced by Thrive using footage provided by STA.
Credits
Footage provided by STA
Producers: Georgia Bainbridge and Chanelle Mihailoff, Thrive PR
Editor: Michael Grant, Thrive PR
Post-production: Michael Grant, Thrive PR
