Agape senior high school students plant a tangerine tree at Sugar King Park in Garapan on Friday as part of the Marianas Tourism Education Council’s Tourism Summit 2024.
Students from Kagman High School and Hopwood Middle School plant a mango tree on Friday at Sugar King Park in Garapan as part of the Marianas Tourism Education Council’s Tourism Summit 2024.
“WE all need to do our part in helping our tourism industry,” said Kagman High School senior Isa Teigeta when asked about the Marianas Tourism Education Council’s Tourism Summit 2024 held on Friday.
“We need to take care of our island to attract more tourists and help our main economic driver, tourism,” added Teigeta, one of the over 300 elementary, middle school, and high school students who participated in the summit.
One of its highlights was the tree-planting activity at Sugar King Park in Garapan where the students planted mango and tangerine trees.
The Marianas Visitors Authority helps organize and coordinate the annual summit.
This year’s theme is, “Green Spaces, Memorable Places,” MVA community project coordinator Jack Aranda said.
“Students went around the island to learn the aspects of ‘green spaces, memorable places,’ such as sports tourism, diving, as well plant and animal conservation,” he said.
“Thank you to all students and their teachers for participating — without their participation this event would not have been possible,” he added.
First time
It was the first time for Agape Christian School to participate in the tourism summit.
“The tourism summit was a great experience for us as we were able to explore [the] whole island and enjoy the scenery,” Agape senior student Jason Yang said.
He noted that more tourists are now visiting the islands, which will be good for the economy, he added.
Kagman High School Chamorro teacher Elsie Johnson said, “The summit participants visited the historical sites in the north. We went to the Last Command Post, Bird Island, and Banzai Cliff with speakers making presentations at some sites. There were also some exhibits from participating government agencies for kids to see.”
Johnson said the tourism summit this year emphasized “taking care of our island and beautifying it to attract more visitors.”
