Samoa's Prime Minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, will be travelling to China next month to seek an air link between the two countries and attract more tourists.
Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi Photo: Samoa Rugby
It's part of a recent drive in Samoa to be "China ready" and Tuila'epa has invited people in the private sector to join him on the trip.
Tuila'epa said last year there were 3000 tourists from China and Chinese tourists recently overtook Americans and Germans as the number one spender.
"We want more of them to fill our hotels, to play in our casinos, enjoy riding our wooden buses and eating at our many restaurants."
The Samoa Tourism Authority has appointed a Chinese tourism expert, Marcus Lee, to promote Samoa as a tourist destination among the Chinese.