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MVA diving campaign draws 1,100 participants
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Posted on Dec 26 2004
Marianas Visitors Authority’s diving campaign drew participation from some 1,100 divers during the first seven months of the program.
Now in its second year, the campaign has attracted 7 percent more participants from April to October 2004, as compared with the same period last year.
MVA statistics showed that the program peaked in September when 213 divers registered with the 21 members of the Northern Marianas Diving Operators Association who are participating in the program.
As part of the campaign, divers get a free T-shirt, free diving, and a chance to win a return vacation package to the islands for every 10 dives that they make. The draw will be conducted by MVA and NMDOA at the beginning of April 2005.
From June to September, divers were also allowed to take underwater pictures for a photo contest. MVA would use 13 of the entries for its 2005 calendar.
In a press statement issued earlier, MVA noted that the ideal climate of the western Pacific allows divers to dive in the Marianas year-round.
“Divers who frequent the waters of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota claimed that the period between April and September is the best season for the ultimate diving experience. Trade winds decrease in the spring and summer months, allowing boat access to all of the islands’ prime dive spots,” MVA said.
Some of the notable dive spots are at Banzai Cliff and Wing Beach in Saipan, and at Goat Island to the south of Tinian.
MVA said Banzai Cliff offers scenes of gliding eagle rays, cruising sharks, amazing coral walls, and soft corals with a visibility of 100 feet. At Wing Beach, divers can expect adventurous trails through crevices in the Blow Hole.
At Goat Island, divers can expect to find an abundance of turtles and some of the largest sharks with a visibility of 150 feet. (Agnes E. Donato)
