Korea travel agencies laud NMI’s safety and cleanliness

Major South Korean travel agencies are lauding the safety measures and cleanliness of the CNMI as the destination launched a travel bubble with the Republic of Korea that became effective yesterday, July 1, 2021.

A delegation from the CNMI led by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres met Wednesday with company executives from Korea’s three largest travel tour companies: HanaTour, Mode Tour, and Yellow Balloon Tour. Torres was joined by representatives of the CNMI COVID-19 Task Force, members of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers and the Marianas Visitors Authority at those meetings.

HanaTour meeting

The CNMI’s hard work in beautifying our islands was recognized by HanaTour’s introduction when they described the CNMI as “Clean, Safe and Romantic!” During the meeting, the HanaTour executive team was led by Co-CEO Jim-Kook Kim and Co-CEO Mi-Sun Song. They were very enthusiastic and excited to help boost the tourist population traveling to the CNMI because they consider the CNMI as “the cleanest and safest destination in the world.”

HanaTour is the largest tour travel company in Korea.

Mode Tour meeting

The meeting with the Mode Tour team was led by CEO Intea Yu, who told Torres during the meeting that they were extremely impressed with his leadership in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and overcoming the challenges facing the CNMI.

He recognized the governor’s hard work and committed that he and the entire Mode Tour team will work just as hard to promote the CNMI as a preferred destination.

The two delegations discussed the challenges and how to overcome them and committed to working together to ensure the success of the CNMI Tourism Resumption Investment Program, or TRIP.

Yellow Balloon Tour

Song Seokwon, Yellow Balloon Tour’s senior management director, and his executive team were excited to meet Torres and appreciated his leadership in bringing the CNMI delegation to meet with Yellow Balloon’s Executive Team. Yellow Balloons’ Team was excited to hear about the TRIP program and was optimistic about their success in selling tour packages to the CNMI. Pre-COVID, Yellow Balloon holds the record for the highest sales of travel tours to the CNMI.

In 2019, almost 250,000 Korean tourists visited the CNMI and these three companies collectively represents 40% of the total outbound travelers from Korea. The positive reviews received by the CNMI delegation about the condition of the islands are a testament to Torres’ leadership, the combined efforts of the Governor’s Economic Council, and the COVID 19 Task Force’s effective steps to protect the CNMI community against COVID-19. (PR)