Samoan perceptions of travel and tourism mobilities – the concept of Malaga

Abstract

Tourism is a global phenomenon yet non-Western travel and tourism mobilities are under-researched and lack theoretical development. In the South Pacific, a region which is increasingly receiving geopolitical attention, there is substantial knowledge of inbound tourism but outbound and domestic forms of travel are less known. To understand the travel and tourism mobilities of Samoans, a concurrent mixed methods design of surveys supplemented by interviews with both urban and rural Samoans was employed. Samoan understandings of travel and tourism are expressed via the concept of malaga, which has a range of meanings including ‘migration’, ‘movement’ or ‘travel back and forth’. For Samoans, travel was for cultural and familial purposes, including the maintenance of cultural bonds through fa’alavelave (traditional obligations) and visiting friends and relatives (VFR). The migration of Samoans to various Pacific countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA has generated more need for travel and has helped to make mobility a routine aspect of Samoan social life. The travel mobilities of both urban and rural Samoans were influenced by a mix of cultural and familial obligations, leisure and tourism goals, and work-related purposes, blurring the lines between tourism and other forms of mobility. This paper advances knowledge of Samoan forms of travel and tourism mobility, providing important insights into the travel practices of a Pacific Islander people at a time when the South Pacific is becoming a site of intensifying geopolitical competition.