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.

摘要

旅游是一种全球性的现象, 而非西方的旅行和旅游移动性却缺乏足够的研究和理论发展。在日益受到地缘政治关注的南太平洋地区, 学术界对该地区入境旅游了解较为深入, 但对该地区的出境和国内旅游形式了解较少。为了了解南太平洋居民的旅游移动性, 本文采用了共时性的混合方法研究设计, 并辅以对萨摩亚群岛城市和农村居民的访谈。萨摩亚人对旅游的理解是通过马拉加（malaga）的概念来表达的, 马拉加有一系列的含义, 包括”迁移”、”移动”或”反复地出行”。对萨摩亚人来说, 旅行是为了文化和家庭目的, 包括通过传统义务和探亲访友来维持文化联系。萨摩亚人向澳大利亚、新西兰和美国等太平洋国家的迁移产生了更多的旅行需求, 并有助于使其移动性成为萨摩亚日常的社会生活的一个方面。城市和农村萨摩亚人的旅游活动受到文化和家庭义务、休闲和旅游目标以及与工作有关的目的等多种因素的影响, 模糊了旅游和其他移动形式的界限。本文增进了对萨摩亚旅行形式和旅游移动性的认识, 在南太平洋成为日益激烈的地缘政治竞争场所之际, 为了解太平洋岛民的旅游实践提供了重要的见解。

Keywords:

• Tourism mobilities
• domestic travel
• international travel
• mixed methods
• South Pacific
• Samoa
• fa’alavelave (traditional obligations)
• travel preferences
• malaga
• Pacific Islanders

关键词:

• 旅游移动性
• 国内旅行;国际旅行;混合方法
• 南太平洋地区
• 萨摩亚群岛
• 传统义务;旅游偏好;马拉加
• 太平洋岛民

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dawn Gibson

Dr Dawn Gibson is a Senior lecturer at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at The University of the South Pacific. She is currently undertaking research into food tourism, Pacific Island tourism mobility, agritourism, dark tourism in the Solomon Islands and resident and tourist perceptions of overtourism. She has an avid interest in Education especially as it relates to tertiary Learning, Teaching and Quality (LTQ).

Stephen Pratt

Professor Stephen Pratt is the head of School of Tourism & Hospitality Management (STHM) at the University of the South Pacific. His research interests include sustainable tourism development (economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism), tourism in small island states and film tourism. Steve is a co-creator of the popular YouTube channel, The Travel Professors.

Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto

Dr Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests are in the areas of mobilities, sustainable tourism, backpackers and cultural geography. He is on the steering committee of AusMob, the Australian Mobilities Research Network.