Samoa: A great leap forward for tourism

A great leap forward it is, in time and mindspace if not in distance. Luckily for Samoa, of course, the great divide between today and tomorrow, International Date Line, is only 20 miles away from its the western-most island, so it can easily time-travel whenever the situation demands. Not that geography has stopped others from tinkering with time: in 2007 President Hugo Chavez shifted Venezuela back 30 minutes, and India's own neighbours maintain a time gap that is due more to political than longitudinal positions. Samoa skipping to the right of the line 119 years ago was understandable: it wanted to be closer in every way to the US, its main trading partner at the time - and celebrate Fourth of July twice that year too.

This time around, its efforts to align itself with its new important business partner - Australasia - has already seen the government mandating a changeover to driving on the left in 2009, signalling a tremendous mental shift. The next little realignment, will only see Samoa leapfrogging over December 28, 2011. That move is unlikely to unsettle anyone except those with birthdays falling on that day. Those born in leap years feel that way three years out of four, and are none the worse for it so it should not cause undue concern.

More importantly, though, Samoa's tourism strategy will have to change lanes, as it was based on the premise that it is the last place on Earth to see the sunset. Since it is better to be a sunrise economy than a sunset one, a neat repackaging should make everyone happy even if it means a drop in the sales of sundowners. And then there is the added attraction of the US-controlled eastern Samoan islands, a short ride away, remaining on the other side of the timeline, giving visitors the option of getting two days for the time (if not the price) of one.