Mr Vaeafe is executive director of the American Samoa Visitors Bureau.
He replaces Papali'i Matatamalii Sonia Hunter of Samoa.
Felicity Bollen from Niue is the new deputy chair.
The announcements were made this week at the South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE) event in Auckland.
SPTO members include American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Wallis & Futuna and China.
