A New Zealand travel agent and first-time visitor to Samoa has described her holidays here as an amazing experience.

Rebema Griffiths said she is returning to her country with her experiences of a great holiday and more knowledge about Samoa’s tourism industry.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer at the Taumeasina Island Resort, she said she has travelled around the world for a niche market experience and coming to Samoa was novel.

“Samoa has some beautiful beaches and the culture here is very nice [and the] people are very helpful,” she said.

Ms. Griffiths is from Whangarei in New Zealand and she works as a travel agent. Samoa is not her first Pacific Island nation to visit as she has always been to Fiji and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. 

“Well seeing what Samoa is and it’s great that the island is very changeable from one side to another,” she added.

The Kiwi suggested that the fees to access beaches in Samoa as well as use fales should be better marketed to tourists and visitors. 

“[It's] not like Fiji and Rarotonga [where] we don’t have to pay; but here since things like beaches [and] fales are [privately owned] and people need to pay for use and they need to let the tourists know about [that],” she said.

In the week she spent in Samoa, the Kiwi said she was amazed by the cultural display at the Saletoga Sand Resort where she watched the Fiafia night.

“I [tried] some Samoan traditions like raw fish, drinking the ava at the culture show, and the best one of all was the coconut,” she added.