Yumie Morishita, Palau Visitors Authority Marketing & Research Manager said that Palau received two awards during the annual Marine Diving Fair in Japan last April 3 through 5.
Morishita said Palau placed second to Maldives in the Best Diving Area category and Best Dreaming Area category.Philippines and French Polynesia won third place in the Best Diving Area category and Best Dreaming Area category respectively.Palau Pacific Resort also won in the other categories and bagged the first place as Best Diving Resort, Overseas.It’s been PPR’s nine straight win in the row.Palau Sport also got the First prize for nine years consecutive the Best live-aboard category.Morishita said a total of 51, 825 people came to watch the annual event which was held at Ikebukuro, Tokyo.“The biggest number in the past, 51,825 people had visited the 2009 Marine Diving Fair in Japan on April 3-5! This was almost the same number of visitors to the fair compared to last year despite the economic recession, the number of visitors slightly increased,”she said. “It was another successful MDF for Palau with 10-tour operators and hoteliers attending the fair and for Palau receiving two awards as a destination,” Morishita added.Morishita said Senator Alfonso Diaz also came to see how PVA promotes Palau at tradeshows.“As a Senator and Chairman of the Tourism Committee, this trip was an educational trip for me and I learned a lot of things about promoting a destination. I hope my colleagues and the community will be able to see video clip of the marketing efforts that justify the need of budget increase for PVA to continue promoting Palau as the choice destination. We have to spend more money to make money,” Diaz said in a separate press statement.PVA and 8 tour operators and hoteliers namely Palau Sports, IMPAC, Dolphins Pacific, Carp Island Resort & Dive Center, Palau Royal Resort, Palau Pacific Resort, Palasia Hotel and Sam’s Tours shared two booths during the annual MDF Fair.Blue Marlin and Splash Palau also participated but had their own separate booths.PVA, Sen. Diaz and the tour operators and hoteliers after the MDF, also joined the 2009 Roadshow in Tokyo.The Roadshow is a joint marketing and PR efforts between Continental Airlines in Japan, Palau Visitors Authority and the Palau tour operators and hoteliers.Morishita said 14 local tour operators and hoteliers joined the Roadshow this year.She said because of the limited budget they only attended the Roadshow in Tokyo and were not able to attend the other Roadshow in other cities such as Nagoya, Niigata, Sendai and Sapporo.The Roadshow was held on April 6 through 10, 2009.
