MVA to continue with rights to Saipanda mascot

Posted on Feb 09 2015

The Marianas Visitors Authority board of directors voted for a licensing agreement to continue its rights to the Saipanda mascot, at their board meeting last Friday.

The mascot is popular among Japanese tourists, and is merchandized in places like T Galleria on Saipan.

MVA chair Marian Aldan Pierce, who is also DFS president, recused herself from the discussion.

Ahead of their decision, MVA looked into the “relevance of the Saipanda mascot” to offshore offices in Japan, Russia, Korea, and China.

Three options were presented: to continue with the mascot rights, retire, or sell these rights. It was asked whether the mascot took into consideration the diversity of Saipan, and if the mascot should be retired to develop another mascot from the input of source countries.

The mascot has “very little presence” in China, Korea, and Russia, it was learned.

Dennis B. Chan | Reporter

Dennis Chan covers education, environment, utilities, and air and seaport issues in the CNMI. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Guam. Contact him at dennis_chan@saipantribune.com.

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