MTEC gathers elementary kids to talk tourism

Marianas Tourism Education Council gathered elementary school students from all over the island for the first day of their 2015 Tourism Summit at the Saipan World Resort yesterday.

The summit drew 343 students, according to MTEC chairwoman Vicky Benavente.

“We are not only giving them messages but we are teaching them how to respond to questions like ‘If you work in the industry, what kind of jobs would you be interested in?’” she said on the summit’s goals that day.

Elementary school students took turns presenting these ideas, marking down thoughts about their future in the tourism industry and sharing it with the crowd.

Lifeguards, waiters, emergency responders, and other jobs were listed for example.

“These kids are thinking about tomorrow while they are still very young,” Benavente said.

An environmental responsibility was also promoted to the kids gathered.

“You got to have one with other,” Benavente said. “You’ve got to respect your environment so our tourists will come.”

Glenn Policare was the keynote speaker yesterday. He is the director of sports, entertainment and activities at the Pacific Island Club Saipan.

He stressed to the students yesterday to greet tourist not only in their local language but “to learn a little bit of their tourist language.”

He taught the hundreds of students how to say “hello” and “thank you” in Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese—the CNMI’s four major markets.

He talked also about environmental awareness—how trash “severely impacts this island and the image of Saipan,” as well as what people can do keep the island clean, like contacting different departments or joining beach cleanups.

“Start at your house, work your way to the community, and pick a spot on the island,” was his environment message.

He said the final message he shared was to create a positive memory with a tourist, whether it is taking a picture, helping a lost guest finding their way, pointing out a restaurant, or a thing to do.

“Our visitors come as guests, and we want them to leave as friends,” he said.

Policare’s career in hospitality has continued for more than 20 years, starting in a summer camp in the mainland, where he worked his way up as junior counselor to program director. He has also worked at Turtle Bay Hilton on the island of Oahu.

“I chose to live on Saipan a number of years ago because the things that people come to visit here on Saipan are not man-made. There’s one Grotto, there’s only one Mt. Tapochau. There’s some absolutely spectacular places on this island that you can’t see anywhere else in the world. Everyone knows Disneyland. But there’s a Disneyland in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Florida…That’s manmade. People come to visit us for specific reasons. We are a warm destination, we are friendly destination, and we are an absolutely beautiful destination. That is what’s really drawn me to the island,” he said.

He added that yesterday’s summit is an amazing opportunity to help students learn about how “each little contribution they make can make a greater contribution overall.”

The summit continues for its second day today for secondary level students.