MTEC Tourism Summit for students on Jan. 24

The Marianas Tourism Education Council Tourism Summit for CNMI Public School System students will be held on Jan. 24, 2019.

The theme of this year’s summit, again co-organized by the Marianas Visitors Authority, is “#MarianasSTRONG,” reflecting the resiliency and recovery of the Marianas tourism economy and community following Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018.

This year’s summit will be held at the former Mariana Resort & Spa, now operating as a Marianas Base Camp for typhoon recovery personnel.

“As every year, we are looking forward to welcoming students for the MTEC Tourism Summit as we address various aspects of tourism in our community,” said MTEC chair Vicky Benavente. “This year we have the unique opportunity to give the students a hands-on experience at an operating hotel, thanks to our very supportive partners at [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] who have authorized us to hold the summit at the Marianas Base Camp this year. This will be our opportunity give the summit participants a tour of hotel operations.”

In prior years, the summit was limited to members of school MY WAVE (Marianas Youth Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically) Clubs, but due to the special challenges schools are facing following Yutu, this year’s summit will be open to any student in grades 5-12, selected by their school to participate.

“Super Typhoon Yutu has been a tremendous challenge for young people in the Marianas, and the message that ‘Tourism is Everybody’s Business’ is as true now as ever,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “The MVA is pleased to again be organizing the annual tourism summit with MTEC, and we look forward to dialoguing with the students on how a natural disaster like Yutu effects a tourism economy and a community, and more importantly, how we can come together #MarianasSTRONG to revive and rebuild tourism.”

Approximately 400 students are expected for the summit, which is co-sponsored by T Galleria, Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, Kanoa Resort, and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Tourism-related exhibits will also be featured. MTEC board of directors include vice chair Wendi Herring (Fiesta Resort & Spa), Martin Duenas (MVA), Christopher Concepcion (MVA), Larry Lee, Naomi Nishimura (PSS), Gordon Marciano (PDI), Catherine Perry (Integrity Communications), Glenn Policare (Kanoa Resort), and Rose Ada-Hocog (PSS).

MTEC was formed in 2002 to heighten the community’s awareness of the importance of tourism to the wellbeing of the people of the Northern Mariana Islands. MTEC’s stated mission is three-fold: to foster community understanding and support of the visitor industry; educate the general public, especially school students, about the value, social benefits, and economic contributions made to the community by the visitor industry; and to instill, improve and promote the “Hafa Adai-Tirow” hospitality spirit throughout the island community. (MTEC)