MVA wins PATA global destination resilience award

The Marianas Visitors Authority was named last Friday as the global recipient of 2022 Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award for Tourism Destination Resilience.

The award announcement was made as part of the PATA Gold Awards 2022 ceremony recognizing the best in marketing, creativity and innovation tailored for the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The MVA’s nomination highlighted the CNMI Tourism Resumption Investment Plan and travel bubble with South Korea.

MVA managing director Priscilla Maratita Iakopo said the Marianas’ resiliency in kickstarting its tourism recovery even at the height of the pandemic was a model for other destinations in terms of public health prioritization, interagency cooperation, rapid responsiveness, and community support.

“There was no playbook for the impact of the coronavirus on our islands, not to mention the entire world,” said Iakopo. “But through our togetherness here in the Marianas, we were able to control the number of COVID cases by following the 3Ws and getting vaccinated. I want to thank the government agencies, most especially the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the COVID-19 Task Force, our non-profit organizations, the community, and most especially, MVA staff, including MVA Korea for their endless contributions in ensuring the MVA continued to carry out our duties and responsibilities, and that’s tourism.”

The awards are made annually in the categories of Marketing and Sustainability & Social Responsibility. The 2022 PATA Gold Awards, open to members and non-members of the Association, attracted a total of 136 entries from 56 travel and tourism organizations and individuals. A total of 25 Gold Awards and two Grand Awards were also presented online to the winning entries in various categories.

“This is huge for the Marianas,” said Iakopo. “We competed with other larger destinations, other beach destinations that have millions of visitors. This demonstrates the excellency of the MVA and, most especially, the great things that can be accomplished when the Marianas unites toward a common goal.”

The MVA’s “Official Marianas Guide” tour guide certification program was awarded a 2018 PATA Gold Award. The PATA Gold Awards are sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office. (MVA)