$1M worth of exposure from latest FAM Tour

Travel agents from Korea tour popular dive site Grotto on Saipan in July 2021. (MVA)

Familiarization tours—or FAM tours for short—are an important and cost-effective tool used by the Marianas and other destinations to attract visitors by generating more exposure of the destination.

The Marianas Visitors Authority periodically hosts FAM tours for media, travel agents, airlines, and other travel industry representatives to become familiar with what Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and the Northern Islands have to offer potential visitors. For a relatively small financial investment, FAM tours generate large returns in publicity and sales.

In partnership with local companies, the MVA may support FAM tour participants with various services needed. For these minimum investments, the Marianas can receive millions of dollars in return with a single FAM tour, although the average return in usually more conservative.

“FAM tours have always been one of the most effective tools the MVA uses to get the word out about the Marianas, and the return-on-investment is substantial, and important consideration with our limited budget compared to other destinations,” said MVA managing director Priscilla Maratita Iakopo. “Especially with the strong support of our local tourism partners and their donations—such as meals, accommodations, activities, or even airfare—FAM tours are an excellent way to encourage the creation of more media coverage of and tour packages selling The Marianas.”

Most recently, the MVA generated over $1 million worth of exposure with a FAM tour in July, when representatives of major travel agencies and airlines and 10 media and social media channels in South Korea toured Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to support the resumption of direct international flights between the two destinations and to ensure the destination was suitable for travel resumption.

Travel agents from South Korea tour I Love Saipan on Saipan in July 2021. (MVA)

Participants included Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, T’Way, Yellow Balloon Tour, Hana Tour Global Tour, Interpark, Online Tour, Hanjin Tour, Tide Square, Ttravel Biz, Naeil Tour, TTL News, Sports Seoul, and TV travel show Eudiny. Also participating were Naver bloggers Joanlee and Ellena Park Eunha, Naver blogger and Instagrammer Ryufill-foto, Sanaella YouTube and Instagram channels youlakk and Yo:oN the Road, and Instagrammer _peppermint.b and Kelly_ing. The FAM tour exposure value to date includes $450,000 through travel agencies, $429,000 through social media influencers, $90,000 through airlines, and $69,000 through media.

“The response of the FAM tour participants was overwhelmingly positive, which is so important in restoring traveler confidence in the Marianas,” said Iakopo. “Almost all of them—including key decision makers from the airlines and travel agencies—have also publicly endorsed the Marianas to their customers and viewers as a result of what they observed and experienced during their tour. The value of that is immeasurable during these times. Already, we are seeing steady yet manageable increases in bookings for the Marianas over the next four months, largely as a result of that one FAM tour.”

FAM tours equip participants to convincingly promote or sell the destination based on first-hand experience. Social media posts also provide immediate and sometimes live exposure of the destination.

At this time, the MVA is projecting approximately 3,800 visitors from Korea through Dec. 31, 2021. Iakopo noted that actual arrivals may differ dependent on evolving COVID-19 policies and guidelines in both the Marianas and Korea, as well as consumer sentiment. (MVA)