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Rota, KNT win prestigious award at JATA Conference
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Posted on Sep 28 2008
The winners of the 15th Annual Tour of the Year 2008 award recipients were announced last Sept. 19 at the JATA World Trade Fair held in Tokyo.
The awards were presented by the Tour of the Year Executive Committee, which is chaired by Kaoru Kanetaka. An awards ceremony was held on a stage specifically prepared for the ceremony.
For the first time this year Grand Prix awards were handed out in four categories with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Awards being newly created awards. The product that has been uniquely planned and has excellent sales results was conferred a “Judge’s Special Award.”
Applications for the awards totaled 133. Applications of overseas packaged tour products increased to 86 from 78 of last year. Among them ten products were recommended by the tourism authorities or embassies.
The prestigious “Judges Special Award” went to KNT for their Golden Week charters flown to the island of Rota. With the focus being specifically on Rota rather than Guam or Saipan, KNT scheduled charter flights to carry tourists to the destination where infrastructure was improved through the cooperation of airlines and local organizations. This included airport expansion, enhancement of boarding bridge and bus transportation, as well as tourism development. This was all accomplished without causing damage to the natural environment that Rota is so well known for. The judges described this as “a product created through a brave challenge of developing something new in Micronesia with great efforts.” The product was praised as “one of model cases, including a buyout system, of the tourism industry in the future.” Murata of KNT accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
“The MVA would like to extend its congratulation to Kinki Nippon Tourist for receiving the JATA—Judge’s Special Award for its Golden Week charters to the island of Rota, said MVA managing director Perry Tenorio. “This prestigious award is a testament of KNT’s commitment to the CNMI travel industry and the emergence of Rota as a standalone tourism product.” [B][I](MVA) [/I][/B]
