It has been one week since the mighty All Blacks left Apia after their historic clash against Manu Samoa.
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The city has had an electric atmosphere over the past two weeks that has slowly died down, but we wanted to find out exactly how the dwindling swarm of New Zealanders affected local businesses.
Jason Strickland, the General Manager of Tanoa Tusitala Hotel, was lucky enough to be on the inside of the All Blacks Samoan headquarters, and said they were outstanding men.
“We were the Hotel of choice for the All Blacks which was great, and they stayed here for four days,” Mr. Strickland said.
“They were really good to look after. It was a professional, smooth and slick operation with the way they looked after everything. But at the same time the players were always really accessible to the public. I thought it would be a nightmare but it wasn’t at all.”
His employees were also able to share a special moment with the All Blacks when they first arrived at the Hotel.
“Our male staff put on a Samoan Haka, which was really cool. They were able to stand in front of the All Blacks and perform a war dance... if I was them I would be talking about it for years to come.”
Mr. Strickland noted that business had been great for the days leading into and after the All Blacks game, but was just happy to see local shops filled with tourists.
“We were fully booked out. Half of the hotel was the All Blacks and Sky TV, whilst the other half was a supporters group that had flown over.
“The amount of business that the All Blacks brought Apia for those three days was just untold of. It was about putting Samoa on the international stage with the millions of people watching the game on Sky TV.”
One of the businesses that were a beneficiary of the mini boom was Milani Cafe, which is owned and run by siblings Dora and Giovanni Rossi.
Ms. Rossi couldn’t believe the amount of people coming through the Cafe, and was also lucky enough to cross paths with some All Blacks.
“The business was super, super busy, and at times overwhelming,” he said. “There were lots of Kiwis, and lots just kept on coming back. It was the busiest time we have had so far this year, that’s for sure.
“We also own Paddles Restaurant and that was just crazy. We were fully booked every night.”
“Richie McCaw was here, and so was Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks and John Campbell. When Richie McCaw came in, my legs were shaking.”
The Rossis’ opened the cafe one and a half years ago, and hope the Kiwi supporters that have returned home convince their friends and family to visit Samoa.
“We have already had some really good feedback on Trip Advisor from people that left last week. Hopefully they tell people in New Zealand about Samoa.”
Office Cafe, in the heart of town, was also swamped by hungry travellers.
Manager Kirisimasi Leiasamaivao said the traffic in her cafe exploded last week, and in the frenzy she spotted a few of the All Blacks rivals.
“We were very busy during breakfast and lunch. The couple of weeks leading into last week were slow, and so you could notice a big difference.”
“Tim Nanai-Williams and Henry Tuilagi came in, as well as a few ex Manu Samoa players who are our regular customers.
It wasn’t just the hospitality industry that received a boost, but also clothing companies.
Lotopa Levaula, of Eveni Carruthers, said that his store certainly didn’t miss out when it came to catching some money from the wallets of tourists.
“It’s been crazy, pretty epic... a lot of people from overseas. They had plenty of interest in our fabrics and Elei shirts.”
Eveni actually made a special Elei shirt for the All Blacks and Manu Samoa, and he said the All Black version walked off the shelf.
“It was a really big seller, we had a lot of people from overseas buying it as well as heaps of locals who were getting behind the All Blacks. And the singlet’s sold out in the first week we had them.”
Although Apia has quietened down in the days following the most significant moment for Samoa since independence, the franticness of the day and the week leading up to it will forever be in the memory of Samoans....especially local shop owners who were run off their feet.
Let’s hope the Wallabies or Springboks are next, and they too bring hundreds of fans ready to loosen their purse strings in the streets of Apia.
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