THE Commonwealth on Saturday welcomed an Asiana Airlines charter flight with close to 50 passengers from South Korea who are here for a familiarization tour.
They include chief executive officers of travel agencies, media influencers, and a film crew who will play pivotal roles in how the CNMI will be marketed in its largest tourism market, South Korea.
“The purpose of having this fam tour before the first pilot program flight that’s being launched is we want to increase product knowledge for all our tourism partners as these are the key players who will be creating and selling our destination packages,” said Priscilla M. Iakopo, managing director, Marianas Visitors Authority.
It has been over a year and a half since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the local tourism industry, and during that time, the Commonwealth has been getting a “facelift,” including through the Public Partnership Program under the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers.
During their one- to two-week stay in the Commonwealth, these key stakeholders from South Korea will conduct site inspections and experience what Saipan, Tinian, and Rota have to offer through their hotels, restaurants, sites, waters, and much more.
Each of them undergoes the same protocols required of inbound passengers to the CNMI, including being tested upon arrival, being tested on the fifth day, and being isolated at Kanoa Resort if tested positive for Covid-19.
After testing negative, they boarded Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority vans to be transported to the Pacific Islands Club to be quarantined for five days before being transferred to Kensington Hotel. Both hotels are operating at 100% full operational services.
Every employee of these select hotels will remain on-site, in an effort to increase the safety of the CNMI community, unless he or she is tested and approved to leave the site.
No outside food or beverages will be allowed during quarantine.
Through the World Travel and Tourism Council Safe Travels stamp, all businesses that have applied to be a part of the tour and have been inspected and certified will partake in the tour activities, whether it be for tour guides, restaurants, retail, or other activities.
A list of these approved businesses can be found on the MVA website at https://www.mymarianas.com
Travel bucks will be used at these approved businesses, with each visitor receiving up to $50 per island they will visit.
The MVA office in South Korea, in coordination with the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation, conducted a seminar in preparation for the familiarization tour, touching base with travel agencies, airlines, as well as influencers with a large following needed to promote the Commonwealth.
The MVA board set aside a budget of about $460,000 to cover airlines, hotels, sites and tours, including visits to Tinian and Rota.
“I’ve been working with the task force to try to find a way to bring tourists back on island… Obviously, we don’t anticipate that there are going to be troves of tourists coming in, flying in, but this [charter flight], at the very minimum, opens up the door and the air bridges between one of our primary markets, which is Korea,” said Kimberlyn King-Hinds, Commonwealth Ports Authority board chair and CNMI Tourism Resumption Task Force representative.
She added, “It’s really exciting to be able to be here and to witness this, as I firmly believe that this is the real way to economic recovery. This is the first step. I hope that they enjoy the accommodations that we are providing, experience our hospitality, [and] see our beautiful beaches. I hope that the word is spread about the beauty that the Marianas has to offer not just to the people who live here, but to the rest of the world.”
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, for his part, said, “I hope that we can grace them and welcome them with open arms, and also offer assistance in any way that we could, and continue our hospitality, showcase what we have here in the CNMI. This is really important for all of us. As you know, we’re starting our travel bubble at the end of the month, hopefully, and this fam tour is definitely what’s going to kick that and jump-start this whole tourism from Korea. It is a very critical tour… We are here to make sure that that goes smoothly and seamlessly and have them have a great experience so that when they go back to Korea, they have a good package to sell and not just for Saipan, but as well as Rota and Tinian. So that’s very exciting and we look forward to that.”
Covid-19 protocols
CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez said that the passengers who arrived on Saturday will undergo the same process that regular inbound passengers experience.
“Working along CHCC CEO Esther Muna, and the entire CHCC team, we are in close coordination and collaboration to make sure that all the process are taken accordingly, and as we’ve been practicing here in the CNMI, almost on a daily basis with the arrival of our passengers, reassuring our community that we’re doing everything we can to safeguard everyone here in the CNMI,” he said.
He added, “Basically, our model and standard operating procedure will not deviate. It’s not going to go any way from what we do every day with United Airlines as well as other charters coming into the CNMI.”
The fam tour group come in pre-registered with their PCR tests with them, go through verification at the airport, are processed and vetted, and are transported accordingly just like every arrival.
“It’s a standard process that we do, and we’re treating everyone the same. Standardization and consistency are what we have in the CNMI,” Villagomez said.
“They will have their PCR test with them, and then when they arrive, they go through the entire process at the airport, will be swabbed as well at the hotel site, and await results.”
According to Villagomez, the CNMI, in discussions with South Korean partners, said inbound passengers from South Korea should have already received their Covid-19 vaccination shots.
“That promotion and message is out there,” he said, adding that private partners in the CNMI were also encouraged to have their employees vaccinated.
The task force is working closely with hotel partners on sterilization, or ensuring that there is no cross infection.
“The procedure is uniform. They will be transported with contact tracers over to Kanoa and we’ll take it over from there. It’s the same procedure that we have in place for everyone… Just for reassurance to our community, our PIC staff are vaccinated and will be closely monitored with all tests. They’ll be housed at PIC… as well as the tourists over at PIC… We have safety protocols for the staff at PIC,” Villagomez said.
“They will be tested as well as taken full assurance that they have no exposure to anyone that could potentially be infected. All of these measures are pretty much taken from our government quarantine site and gets applied over to PIC. So, the process that we’ve been doing applies over to PIC as well. I want to reassure our people that we have close monitoring and making sure that there’s no cross infection to the PIC group as well as to our people of the CNMI.”
“It’s a very exciting day for the CNMI. We’re here to graciously welcome our fam group tour that just arrived… We’re excited to get everyone out and start doing work and making sure that our CNMI gets promoted at the highest level… This arrival, as you can see, we want it to be at the highest level, triple, quadruple the amount of visitors we’re going to be expecting and accepting,” Villagomez said.
Travel bubble
The first international flight with actual South Korean tourists is anticipated to arrive this Saturday, July 24, with the second flight anticipated for Thursday, July 29.
Asiana Airlines, Jeju Airlines, and T’way Airlines, which have been selected to participate in these travel bubble flights, have already accumulated 60 passengers combined thus far.
A recent survey conducted in South Korea showed that South Koreans are yearning to travel, with 60% stating that they are willing to travel to the Marianas and stay for seven to 14 days.
“With this travel bubble, there’s a lot of uncertainties. If you’re just keeping up with the news and seeing what’s happening all over the world to include the United States of America, you’re seeing spikes in infection rates. Right now, for the Commonwealth at least, we cannot compromise the safety of the community, and that’s why the travel bubble is set up the way that it is where you still have to go through this mandatory quarantine and get the testing before you go into a corridor hotel and freely experience the Commonwealth. That’s a fine line: balancing the safety of the community and opening up the economy. That’s a challenge, given the fact that [there’re] so many uncertainties with Covid,” King-Hinds said.
“I know that there’s some concerns in Korea with regards to the Delta variant, and so obviously, we have to be very vigilant until we get the community to a certain vaccination rate. That’s a challenge. I do know that there’s been some news that have come out of Korea, basically coming out and saying that there are going to be challenges enticing tourists given the still very stringent requirements to come to the Commonwealth with the travel bubble. I get it; I get the fact that it’s going to be a challenge, but this goes back to basically just balancing again, the health and safety of our community and opening up the economy. We don’t expect a whole bunch of tourists to be lining up to come here, but we do hope that the program is attractive enough for folks coming out here for longer periods of stays.”
Marianas Visitors Authority and Commonwealth Ports Authority officials and personnel hold a banner as they wait for the arrival of the South Korean visitors at the airport, Saturday.
Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority personnel led by Special Assistant for Public Transportation Alfreda Camacho wait for the arrival of the tourists who will be transported to PIC by COTA.
