Samoa to Become Tomorrowland
The South Pacific island nation of Samoa plans to jump forward in time by one day by shifting west of the international dateline—119 years after it moved the other way in a bid to boost its trade and economy. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi cited the same reasons for switching back, saying Monday that moving forward a day to share the same date and similar time as its Pacific neighbors, including key trading partners Australia and New Zealand,will make doing business with “far, far easier and more convenient.”
The independent Polynesian nation and neighboring American Samoa lay west of the dateline until 1892, when a U.S. business trader convinced both states to switch to the east. “A local trader lobbied successfully for the change as it was convenient for trading ships from Europe and the United States that were servicing Samoa at the time,” Mr. Tuilaepa said in a statement. “But our trading partners have dramatically changed since, and today we do a lot more business with New Zealand and Australia, China and Pacific Rim countries such as Singapore.”
Mr. Tuilaepa said Samoa is currently losing out on two working days a week doing business with New Zealand and Australia. “While it’s Friday here, it’s Saturday in New Zealand, and when we’re at church Sunday, they’re already conducting business in Sydney and Brisbane,” he said. The shift will put the dateline between Samoa and American Samoa, a U.S. territory less than 100 kilometers to the southeast—but Mr. Tuilaepa said that would create “exciting tourism opportunities.”
An interesting fact about Samoa: The NFL recruits the most Asian Football Players from Samoa.