An alcohol ban ahead of Samoa’s general election has left some tourists questioning whether such restrictions clash with the holiday atmosphere or whether it is a publicity stunt.

“If you're paying a lot of money for a holiday and your idea of a holiday is relaxing by the pool with a cocktail, two days of alcohol-free days to respect the local culture is probably... it would feel too much. Maybe one day, you could, but that's my opinion, frankly," said Cathy, who is in Samoa visiting from Australia with friends.

Her comments follow the Ministry of Customs and Revenue’s announcement of a temporary suspension of alcohol sales and distribution ahead of the 29 August general elections. The ban will begin at 12:01 am on Thursday, 28 August, and remain in effect until 6:00 am on Saturday, 30 August.

Hotels will be permitted to serve alcohol only to in-house guests. “If you're paying a lot of money to stay here (at the hotel), you want the whole service.” Maryanne, also from Australia, added. The group acknowledged Samoa’s no-alcohol Sundays as part of cultural tradition but questioned the need for a ban during elections.

Maryanne said such restrictions would never be accepted back home. “There would be a riot,” she said. Her husband agreed. “In fact, I think the elections are the days they put on beer, sausages and barbecues. They have a beer right at home or at the hotel.” Maryanne added.

“It just associates alcohol with evil, and it's not. It's enjoyable," Maryanne added.

New Zealand tourist Paul Sands also questioned the policy. “It seemed like a weird thing to want to do. I also thought, it can't be good for tourism if you do that sort of thing either,” he said. “I thought that there must be some sort of underlying reason to do this, some sort of control mechanism or somebody wanting to play power. I almost joked and said, Do they expect all the population to get drunk and run riot through the country or something?”

His wife, Marjorie, agreed. “It sounds a bit over the top for me. But if you were determined to drink in those days, you'd go and buy a few now and leave them at home. It doesn't seem to make an awful lot of practical sense to me.”

Paul said that if such a ban were introduced in Auckland, New Zealand, “People would think it's a joke, to be quite honest. I don't think people would take it seriously. And if the places were banned from selling alcohol, as Marjorie just said, they'll go and buy some a couple of days beforehand. Especially if it's a public holiday or you've got an election party and people want to celebrate their win or commiserate their loss with a couple of beers. So, is it a publicity stunt? I don't know.”

He added he had never seen alcohol interfere with elections in his home country. “I’ve never known anybody wants to get drunk to go and vote. But I'm not even sure it's legal at home, to be quite honest with you. I've never seen anybody turn up to a polling station intoxicated. You'd probably find they'd be turned away. I'm not sure they're allowed to, but I wouldn't swear to that. I don't know.”