PH travel agents, media tour Saipan

Media and travel agents from the Philippines with cultural dancers at the Fiesta Resort & Spa joyful dinner show last Aug. 29. The group was on Saipan on a FAM tour organized by the Marianas Visitors Authority. (Contributed Photo)

Fifteen travel agents and 11 media representatives from the Philippines recently visited the Northern Mariana Islands to experience an adventure in Saipan that they will share with potential visitors, readers, and viewers.

The travel agents highlighted their tour with hotel inspections at Aqua Resort Club, Kensington Hotel, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Fiesta Resort & Spa (where they lodged), Kanoa Resort, Saipan World Resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Coral Ocean Golf Resort, and Lao Lao Bay Golf & Resort. Other activities included a tour of historic and scenic sites in Marpi, an off-road ATV tour with Let’s Go!, banana printing, and swimming, parasailing, snorkeling, and scuba diving at Managaha.
Additional activities covered by Travelife Magazine included the various treatments available at Hyatt’s I Sagua Spa, shopping at T Galleria and JoetenShopping Center, Saipan’s iconic flame trees, a cocktail show at the Las Vegas-style SandCastle Saipan, and sunset aboard a Best Sunshine yacht. Other media also covered Santa Lourdes Shrine and a submarine tour as part of the group FAM(iliarization) tour on Aug. 28-Sept. 1, 2016.

“It was a pleasure to welcome this large FAM tour from the Philippines as they explored the Northern Marianas. They had a jam-packed three days, and during our welcoming dinner, they expressed a lot of enthusiasm about their experience,” said Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “Through our industry partner Philippine Airlines, it’s now more convenient than ever for Filipinos and ex-pats to visit, as well as visitors connecting through Manila from elsewhere in Asia, as we are now seeing on arriving flights.”

Participating travel agencies were: Travel Specialist, Globetrotters, Arfel Travel, Luxus Pacific, Supersonic Travel, Amiable Tours, Travelplus, Fortune Travel, Travel Best Guide, Rajah Travel, Cebu Fortune, Travelways International Inc., Goldlink Travel, Goldenworld, and Hana Tours.

On the media side, Travelife Magazine circulates monthly to nearly two million people and will publish an 11-page fashion and activity feature and cover in its October 2016 edition. Husband-and-wife team Joy Mendoza of Teach with Joy and ANC TV Anchor Edric Mendoza teamed up for four full features on family and relaxation that will air daily for two weeks on ANC. Both individuals are well-respected in their fields, and their visit will also be featured on the Teach with Joy blog. Travel Update Magazine circulates to one million readers twice monthly and will feature six pages on the Northern Marianas in their October 2016 edition. Royal Class Travel and Timberfield Travel also participated in the tour.

The group was joined by two members of the MVA’s office in the Philippines who coordinated the tour along with on-island MVA marketing specialists. (PR)