Asiana VIPs set NMI meeting

Over 130 executives from Kumho Asiana, its affiliate companies and investors are set to arrive on Saipan tomorrow for a three-day annual conference.

The delegation will be headed by Nam Soo Oh, chief executive officer of Kumho Asiana, the mother company of Asiana Airlines and several other companies.

The president of Asiana Airlines, Joo An Kang, will be here, too.

Asiana Airlines-Saipan general manager Kwang Joong Kim said it will be the second year for the VIPs to hold the annual meeting on Saipan.

“I am very happy and excited to welcome them. We will have a delegation of 130 people, our VIPs included. It’s not usual that they go to the same place for two consecutive years. But they are doing it here. Asiana Airlines flies to 62 overseas destinations. They usually go to every other place every year,” said Kim.

He said the VIP conference, which will be attended by Kumho Asiana investors—major banks, top security companies, and bonding companies in Korea, would be a big boost to the local tourism.

“They are executives, presidents and vice presidents of companies. When they travel and like the place, they come back with their families and friends,” said Kim.

He said that after last year’s conference, several of the attendees came back to Saipan with their families and friends to play golf and do water sports.

He said the Kumho Asiana executives chose Saipan again this year because they like the place.

“They want to come back. They have a good experience on Saipan. They think this place as beautiful, clean, safe and friendly,” said the resident manager.

Other than Asiana Airlines, Kumho Asiana Group is also into construction and chemical business and several others.

This developed as Asiana Airlines reported a double digit growth this year.

Kim said that compared with last year, Asiana Airlines’ traffic flow grew by 28 percent.

“Asiana Airlines keeps increasing strongly. We expect November will increase almost 18 percent from last year,” said Kim in an interview yesterday.

This upward trend is expected to further improve next year in view of Asiana Airlines’ introduction of new flights. Kim has confirmed that Asiana Airlines will add three more flights beginning on Dec. 26 to accommodate the increasing traffic. This would bring the total number of flights to 10 a week.

As a proof of growth, the airline has changed its aircraft this year from an Airbus 321, which has a capacity of 177 seats, to a Boeing 777, which has a capacity of 310 passengers.

Asiana Airlines’ increased load came as a result of aggressive promo and advertising campaigns in Korea this year. Among these were the airing of a soap opera, Foolish My Love, which was filmed in the Northern Marianas, and the holding of beauty and modeling contests on Saipan.

The soap opera ran for about two months and gained a record high viewership of over 30 percent, which means that it was being watched by more than 14 million Koreans.

In fiscal year 2006, Korean arrivals totaled 80,764, which was 24 percent up compared to fiscal year 2005.

Last month’s arrivals data also showed a consistent growth of the market. From 5,369 arrivals in October 2005, it rose to 5,818 last month, reflecting an 8-percent increase. [I][B](Liberty Dones)