THE Marianas Visitors Authority board unanimously approved allotting $36,000 for a safety tips video that will be aired on Flame Tree TV’s Visitors Channel.
MVA Managing Director Priscilla M. Iakopo said the video will be aired on the Visitors Channel and continuously “video looped” at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport every day.
“The safety tips video will be for all our markets, and will be available in English, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese,” she said.
“A lot of the safety tips will be revamped. As you know, things have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic, but we want to continue the road safety, personal safety, and marine protected area features.”
MVA Chairwoman Viola Alepuyo made a suggestion to include a sign language portion as part of the video.
Iakopo said the production of the video is ongoing. “We can go back to our contractor and have them include a sign language portion,” she said.
She added that the project is a sole-source contract with the remaining TV company on island.
“We do have a sole-source justification that [Flame Tree TV] is the only company that provides that service. We should be okay,” Iakopo said.
MVA board member Warren Villagomez, who attended the meeting via videoconference, asked for the inclusion of Covid-19 safety measures in the video.
“We are incorporating them in the personal safety video clips,” Iakopo replied.
Besides Alepuyo and Villagomez, the other MVA board members who voted in favor of approving the contract for the video were Masaru Sunaga, Ivan Quichocho, Gloria Cavanagh, and Thomas Liu who participated via videoconference.
Board member Chris Nelson, who owns Flame Tree TV, left the conference room and did not participate in the vote.
The Marianas Visitors Authority board of directors and management hold a special meeting on March 18, 2022.
