Samoa recorded a total of 23,900 tourists in 2020, ranking 193rd in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Samoa, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.11 tourists per resident, Samoa ranked 118th in the world. In Polynesia, it ranked 4th.
In 2020, Samoa generated around 23.06 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 2.7 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 33 percent of all international tourism receipts in Polynesia.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 916 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Samoa spend only around 92 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Samoa from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Samoa each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
The red line represents the average of all 5 countries in Polynesia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 35.70 million USD, or about 15.88 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 68,000 tourists at that time and roughly 525 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $206.10 million billion, 22.58 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $1,139 on their vacation in Samoa.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $206.10 million billion (2019), only $23.06 million billion remained. This is a 89 percent decrease in Samoa.
All data for Samoa in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
23,900.00
23.06 m $
2.7 %
965 $
2019
181,000
206.10 m $
22.58 %
1,139 $
2018
172,000
192.30 m $
21.89 %
1,118 $
2017
158,000
167.00 m $
18.87 %
1,057 $
2016
146,000
148.70 m $
17.62 %
1,018 $
2015
139,000
142.40 m $
17.28 %
1,024 $
2014
132,000
147.70 m $
19.52 %
1,119 $
2013
125,000
137.20 m $
17.82 %
1,098 $
2012
135,000
148.20 m $
19.49 %
1,098 $
2011
128,000
134.90 m $
18.30 %
1,054 $
2010
130,000
123.70 m $
18.65 %
952 $
2009
129,000
115.20 m $
19.70 %
893 $
2008
122,000
111.60 m $
18.02 %
915 $
2007
122,000
102.40 m $
17.95 %
839 $
2006
116,000
88.40 m $
17.48 %
762 $
2005
102,000
73.80 m $
15.85 %
724 $
2004
98,000
70.00 m $
16.65 %
714 $
2003
92,000
54.00 m $
15.94 %
587 $
2002
89,000
45.00 m $
15.62 %
506 $
2001
88,000
39.00 m $
14.28 %
443 $
2000
88,000
41.00 m $
15.24 %
466 $
1999
85,000
42.50 m $
16.42 %
500 $
1998
78,000
39.60 m $
14.70 %
508 $
1997
68,000
38.51 m $
13.49 %
566 $
1996
73,000
40.40 m $
16.17 %
553 $
1995
68,000
35.70 m $
15.88 %
525 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
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