A federally funded air transport market study calls for easing of entry requirements for residents of Samoa coming into American Samoa — as well as the inclusion of U.S. green card holders — thereby increasing the number of visitors and tourism dollars for the territory, which is trying to develop its tourism industry.

It also points out that the current immigration process for entry into American Samoa “is not the solution to overstay problems”.

Easing travel for both business and leisure into American Samoa has long been advocated by the local Chamber of Commerce to boost visitors to the territory, and the air transport study appears to support the Chamber’s stand.

The air transport study, contracted to UBM Aviation-ASM or Airport Strategy Marketing Limited, states that citizens of Samoa are required to obtain entry permits in advance of travel at a cost of $10 for up to 14 days or $40 for up to 30 days with proof of a return or onward travel required.

It says Samoa imposes similar visa requirements on U.S. Nationals residing in American Samoa and collects a $20 departure fee for all travelers using its airports unless they are in country less than 24 hours.

According to the study, the territory can generate a lot more travel to and from Samoa if it allows visitors to obtain entry permits on arrival and negotiates similar liberalization for American Samoans visiting Samoa.

“The current onerous process for entry to American Samoa is not the solution to overstay problems, which can be managed directly by monitoring people in the Territory,” the study states and notes that ASG has opened negotiations with the Samoa government “to reduce or eliminate fees, and should persist to bring that process to a successful conclusion.”

For other countries, the study recommends that visitors entry should be eased as well, saying that  American Samoa allows entry for up to 30 days for citizens of Canada or any of the 37 countries that participate in the US Visa Waiver Program.

Visitors from other countries require visas obtained in advance, which is difficult or impossible in many places, the study said. For example, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are among the Asia-Pacific countries not on the U.S. visa waiver list along with Russia and all of South America. Citizens of those countries are not admitted without visas.

The study recommends that American Samoa could make visiting much easier if it: allowed any holder of a US green card or current visa to enter for up to 30 days, subject to the same requirements as visitors from visa waiver countries — and allowed visitors from most countries to obtain similar tourist visas on arrival.

(Samoa News should point out that any U.S. Green card holder, who are foreigners allowed by the federal government to reside in the United States, are still required by American Samoa — which controls its own immigration and customs — to obtain an entry permit to visit the territory.)

Because the territory controls its own borders, the study says American Samoa has great leverage with regards to issuing entry visas and permits, setting immigration policies, and being able to open — or close — the door on who is allowed to enter the Territory.

“Airline passenger traffic is limited by the visa and permit requirements imposed by American Samoa’s immigration and visitor policies and by the sometimes slow processing of passengers at Pago Pago International Airport,” it says, adding that the processing is a particular issue when Hawaiian Airlines’ aircraft unload up to 250 passengers per trip.

According to the study, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has been working with airports and service providers on the development of technology to speed the passenger clearance process and improve reliability and completeness of visitor data capture.

The study’s contractors say that they have asked CBP for information about how it might assist American Samoa in streamlining passenger clearance. CBP can provide advisory service and ASG can seek a federal grant “for badly needed automation”.

The report acknowledges that the territory does not have visa requirements for US citizens and nationals, and similarly admits freely the citizens of a number of other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most of Western Europe.

However, American Samoa does require that visitors obtain visas in advance if they are citizens of Samoa, or a number of other countries, including Mexico, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Even Green Card holders residing in the US, who are citizens of those countries, are not exempted from the visa requirements, though American Samoa admits visitors who have visas for entry to the US.

The report recommends advocating rapid and significant liberalization of entry restrictions.

Additionally, entry permits for citizens of Samoa “are the greatest barrier to increasing air traffic and appear to be the most easily relaxed.” It also says that further development of the Pago Pago-Apia market will be good for the Pago Pago International Airport Airport as well as the convenience of residents of both islands.

“Reducing the cost and making visa acquisition easier for passengers in both directions would likely boost the market volumes,” the report states. “From an airline point of view, the immigration process and visa requirements are viewed as negative factors.”