The Samoa Hotel Association is relieved that travelers repatriated from New Zealand are being accommodated in hotels for their quarantine period during the coronavirus pandemic.
SHA President, Tupa'i Saleimoa Vaai said it is a temporary relief but it is a blessing in disguise.
“Right now our industry is in a lot of economic pain and the decision by Government to house our stranded arrivals in hotels, is a helping hand reaching out to us in our time of desperate need,” Tupa’i said.
“We have some income circulating in the industry again not just for hotels but for catering services responsible for feeding the detained travellers.”
The Savali Newspaper reports hoteliers are aware of the coronavirus pandemic threat with their guests arriving from an already infected destination but they trust the health security systems in place.
“We have put our faith in the work of our health and quarantine workers on the screening process adopted for these new arrivals into the country.”
More than a thousand people are being flown in on carefully scheduled flights when the health task team are satisfied and ready for the next lot to be safely allowed entry.
The first large group of arrivals are due to complete their 14 days of isolation on Friday.
The next scheduled flight from Auckland to Apia is scheduled for Friday as well but that remains to be finalised depending on the all clear approval from the health task force.
“We should be able to distribute the new arrivals for each hotel to have a share of the earnings as a quarantine site before the whole arrangement ends,” Tupa’i said.
The hotels did benefit earlier before the lockdown shut the borders to international travel, with the last inbound flights from Fiji and New Zealand to land in Samoa.
“Apart from our quarantine engagements, little change has returned to revive our revenue earnings since the slow down started with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have been trying to refocus all our efforts into the promotion of our local market with each hotel to arrange their own accommodation packages with attractive offers to bring in guests,” Tupa’i said.
The local market is the best hope for all industries related to tourism with lockdown restrictions expected to remain for as long as the coronavirus pandemic shows little sign of fading out.
Photo RNZ Pacific Caption: SHA President, Tupa'i Saleimoa Vaai