Festivities celebrate May as Tourism Month

The Marianas Visitors Authority has scheduled a large number of events for the upcoming Tourism Month, which takes place every May.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial will sign a proclamation on Friday, April 25, at 10am proclaiming May as Tourism Month. This year’s theme is “Tourism is Everybody’s Business.”

A new event this year will be Tourism Industry Trash Cleanup Day taking place on April 29 where the Garapan tourism district will be cleaned. This event is being supported by MVA and its tourism partners, JSTA, KTAS and MVA members. The public is invited to participate in this event. Check in is at 7:30am at American Memorial Park. The first 100 volunteers will receive a t-shirt.

Everyone is asked to participate in “Hafa Adai Tirow Way” Fridays. Every Friday in the month of May will be “Local Attire Day.” Everyone in the community is asked to wear local attire including local beads, mwar mwar, shell leis and local traditional island wear to showcase the islands’ culture and local hospitality to tourists on island. Tourism industry members are also encouraged to embrace this day by having their front line staff wear their favorite local attire, to emphasize the importance of the tourism industry in the community.

The 10th annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden will be held every Saturday in May at the American Memorial Park from 6pm to 10pm beginning on May 3 and ending on May 31. This event has become a popular event for visitors and the local community. The event will feature local and international cuisine sold by participating hotel and local restaurant outlets. Visitors to the festival can also enjoy the talents of local and international performers. This will include some tourism awareness displays and competitions. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at the main stage to signify the start of Tourism Month and the opening of the Taste of the Marianas.

A Tourism Month Mountain Bike Race will take place on May 31. This mountain bike race will consist of short course for kids 12 and under and a fun ride for beginners. Open Division for Pros will consist of a mountain ride from the American Memorial Park up to Mt. Tapochao and back to the start and finish. All proceeds from this event will be donated to a non-profit organization chosen by MVA. MVA members are encouraged to sponsor their own employees or kids to participate in this event.

In order to further educate the local community about the importance of tourism, there will be interviews with key tourism industry personnel talking about “Why tourism is so important to you, your company and the community.” There will also be a “Did you Know” radio trivia program taking place where listeners will have the opportunity to win t-shirts and tokens to the Taste of the Marianas. [B][I](MVA)[/I][/B]