The prolonged closure of Samoa’s international borders has continued to affect its tourism sector severely, which recorded no earnings for November 2020.

This was highlighted in a report released by the Central Bank of Samoa this week on "Visitor Earnings and Remittances for November 2020."

The monthly release is the latest available indicators on the tourism sector and private remittances, with information sourced from the Central Bank, Samoa Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry for Revenue.  

The report notes that existing border closures are preventative measures set by the Government for the purpose of safeguarding Samoa from the coronavirus. 

With the exception of repatriation flights for returning Samoan citizens, this has continued to severely affect the tourism industry. 

“There were no tourist arrivals and earnings for the month of November,” read the report.

It also states that the tourism price index fell further, by 21.3 per cent over the same month from the previous year, due to reductions in the ‘Accommodation’, ‘Other Transportation’, ‘Meals and Drinks’, ‘Family Obligations’ and ‘Miscellaneous’ sub-indices. 

While there were no tourism earnings for November 2020, the total private remittances recorded a 9.9 per cent or $4.2 million increase to $46.8 million over the year. 

The increase in private remittances, over the same month from the previous year was accounted for by higher funds from source countries such as Australia (up by $2.8 million), USA (up by $1.1 million), American Samoa (up by $1.0 million) and New Zealand up by ($0.5 million).

In addition, by recipient: funds for ‘Family and Households’ went up by $9.8 million, offsetting reductions in all the other recipients. 

Overall, the total inflow of remittances in the first five months of 2020/21 expanded by 17.6 per cent or $39.3 million to $263.0 million over the same period of 2019/20. 

Largely responsible for the overall expansion in the first five months, were gains in transfers from Australia (up by $25.7 million), New Zealand (up by $15.8 million) and American Samoa (up by $8.7 million). By recipient, the total funds for ‘Family and Households’ rose by $73.9 million. 

The monthly share of remittances inflows received through Money Transfer Operators (M.T.O.’s) edged up to 91.0 per cent from 83.3 per cent in November 2019 while those received directly through commercial banks fell to 9.0 per cent from 16.7 per cent.

The average monthly cost of sending NZD $200.00 to Samoa fell to 10.88 per cent from 11.02 per cent in November 2019 while the average cost of sending AUD$200.00 also fell to 8.77 per cent from 8.72 per cent over the year.