Promoting Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Tourism Development: Samoa A. Ford, A. Carr, N. Mildwaters, D. Fonoti and G. Jackmond About NZIPR The New Zealand Institute for Pacific Research (NZIPR) was launched in March 2016. Its primary role is to promote and support excellence in Pacific research. The NZIPR incorporates a wide network of researchers, research institutions and other sources of expertise in the Pacific Islands. Published by Promoting Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Tourism Development: Samoa A. Ford1, A. Carr1, N. Mildwaters2, D. Fonoti3 and G. Jackmond3 ISBN: 978-0-473-48281-7 1 University of Otago PO Box 56 Dunedin New Zealand 2 Otago Museum 419 Great King St Dunedin New Zealand 3 Centre for Samoan Studies Le Papaigalagala Campus National University of Samoa Apia, Samoa 1 Executive Summary Tourism has been identified as an important in Samoa. In March 2018, a third trip involved economic industry for the Small Island a week of semi-structured interviews with Developing States (SIDS), including Samoa, cultural heritage and tourism stakeholders. both internally (STA 2014a) and externally (Everett et al. 2018; Harrison and Prasad A key finding of this research is that while 2013; World Bank 2017). One of the impor- intangible cultural heritage such as dances, tant niche markets for tourism is cultural performances and craft production is already heritage, which involves “travellers seeing or a mainstay of Samoan tourism, tangible experiencing built heritage, living culture or cultural heritage sites beyond the museums contemporary arts” (Timothy 2011: 4). While and the Samoan Cultural Village in Apia are cultural heritage tourism comprises 40% of largely missing. Samoa has a rich array of the global market, in the Pacific cultural monumental archaeological sites, including heritage tourism remains underdeveloped. star mounds, house platforms, walkways, fences, earth mounds and fortification sites, One of the benefits of cultural heritage which are highly visible and evocative, tourism is its ability to involve local com- including some of the largest man-made munities, using their own heritage as tourism structures in Polynesia. Many of these sites assets, therefore potentially providing sus- are located on customary land and therefore, tainable socio-economic development. This where appropriate, could be developed by study investigates the current opportunities local communities as potential sustainable and constraints for local communities in tourism ventures. These cultural heritage developing cultural heritage tourism sites could provide an excellent opportunity projects, using Samoa as a case study. for communities to be involved in the tourism industry, particularly as development The methodology for this report involved a will generally require low levels of investment desktop review of tourism-related literature in capital and infrastructure, and build upon for Samoa, as well as three fieldtrips to Samoa an already known asset – their own cultural for site observations and meetings with local heritage. At the same time, developing community members and cultural heritage cultural heritage sites that address Samoa’s and tourism stakeholders, to discuss attitudes long history could provide a distinct and opinions towards cultural heritage tourism. marketing point from other Pacific Island In August 2017, an initial scoping trip was nations, establishing itself as a major cultural completed to liaise with local National heritage destination within the Pacific. University of Samoa partners. The second visit in December 2017 involved the research Developing tourism at these sites will not be team conducting focus group interviews with without challenges. To begin with, Samoa local community members who have the has fragmentary cultural heritage legislation potential to develop cultural heritage tourism that provides little protection to these sites. attraction sites. This trip also involved the As recommended by the Samoa Law team visiting key cultural heritage locations Reform Commission, a Samoan Heritage 2 Authority should be developed with appro- unfamiliar to the communities interviewed, priate legislation to protect tangible cultural compared to other types of tourism. In heritage sites. short, there is great potential in Samoa for local communities to be involved in cultural For tourism development, communities and heritage tourism, but there needs to be a stakeholders identified a need for initial coordinated and holistic strategy for tourism capital grants for access/infrastructure issues development from both tourism and cultural at the sites, as well as resources and training heritage bodies together. If completed for members of the communities who need successfully, the development of this tourism assistance with capacity building, product could be attractive to several types of development, marketing and guide training. markets, including international visitors, but Awareness/advocacy for cultural heritage also domestic and diaspora visitors who wish tourism was also needed as this concept was to connect to their culture and history. 3 Acknowledgements The project team would like to acknowledge the funding provided by the New Zealand Institute of Pacific Research to undertake this study. We would also like to thank all of the stakeholders involved in our research, including the local communities and tourism providers who agreed to participate in interviews in Samoa, as well as the Museum of Samoa, the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, the Samoan Tourism Authority, the Savai’i Samoa Tourism Association, the Culture Division of Ministry of Sports, Education and Culture, and the Centre for Samoan Studies at theNational University of Samoa. We would also like to thank Matiu Matavai Tautunu from the Centre for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa for facilitating community interviews, and the students from the Centre for Samoan Studies who assisted with the translation and transcription of the interviews. 4 Contents Executive Summary 2 Acknowledgements 4 Introduction 6 Tourism in Samoa 8 Community Based Tourism in Samoa 14 Cultural Heritage Tourism 16 Cultural Heritage of Samoa 20 Key Stakeholders for Cultural Heritage Tourism in Samoa 22 Cultural Heritage Opportunities in Samoa 24 Community and Stakeholders’ Views on Cultural Heritage Tourism 30 Challenges With the Development of Community Based Cultural Heritage Tourism 34 The Role of Museums in Cultural Heritage Tourism 40 Recommendations 43 Concluding Remarks 47 References 48 5 Introduction Tourism has been identified domestically attitudes and opinions towards cultural and internationally as a key economic and heritage tourism. The first trip in August development opportunity for South Pacific 2017 was an initial scoping trip to liaise with nations (Harrison and Prasad 2013), with local National University of Samoa partners entities such as the World Bank (2017) and at the Centre for Samoan Studies. The the Asian Development Bank (Everett, second visit in December 2017 involved Simpson and Wayne 2018) focusing upon group interviews with local community the need for these smaller nations to develop members of three villages who have the sustainable tourism that draws upon their potential to develop cultural heritage tourism rich natural and cultural heritage (Scheyvens attraction sites. The group interviews 1999). Tourism is often positively portrayed combined villages, but separated interviews as providing multiple benefits to developing into three groups: matai, women and nations, including the stimulation of economic untitled men, in order to hear different growth; the creation of employment oppor- viewpoints. These interviews were held in tunities and enterprises; the promotion of English and Samoan, and were recorded, infrastructure development; provision of tax transcribed and translated by the Centre for revenue to governments; the import of Samoan Studies. This trip also involved the foreign currency and potentially foreign team visiting key cultural heritage locations investment; and the potential spread of in Samoa. In March 2018, a third trip economic opportunities into rural areas and involved a week of semi-structured local communities (Cole 2006; Scheyvens interviews with cultural heritage and tourism 2015; Telfer and Sharpley 2016). Furthermore, stakeholders, including staff from the tourism involving the cultural heritage of Museum of Samoa, the Samoa Tourism communities can deliver beneficial out- Authority, the Savai’i Samoa Tourism comes such as cultural exchange and the Association, the Robert Louis Stevenson potential for continuation of cultural trad- Museum, the Cultural Division of Ministry itions, while also acknowledging that mis- of Sports, Education and Culture and local management, especially during times of tourism providers, including those with tourism growth, can be detrimental to com- experience in cultural heritage tourism. munities (Scheyvens 1999). The aim of this report is to examine the potential for developing This report was completed as part of a larger cultural heritage tourism opportunities, with project, funded by the New Zealand Institute particular emphasis on tangible cultural heri- of Pacific Research, which aimed to investi- tage such as archaeological sites, for sustain- gate the possibility of utilising cultural heritage able local community development in Samoa. for sustainable tourism development within the Pacific region. Two case studies were The methodology for this project