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MTEC hosts its first Tourism Summit in two years
Hundreds of students listen to guest speaker Dr. Bobby Cruz speak at the Marianas Tourism Education Council Tourism Summit last Thursday at the Kensington Hotel Saipan. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)
The Marianas Tourism Education Council hosted its first Tourism Summit in two years last Thursday at the Kensington Hotel Saipan, featuring more than 300 students that are members of local MY WAVE Clubs.
Participating students included third to 12th graders from various public schools.
“The last summit we had was actually in 2020 because of the pandemic. We started planning again in 2022 and we were able to bring it back in 2023. It’s been 20 years that we’ve been having summits and events for MTEC as this is actually MTEC’s 20th year in existence. I’m very happy,” said acting MTEC chair Vicky Benavente.
According to her, the importance of the MTEC Summit is very simple; bringing together the youth so they can understand their role and the importance of the tourism industry in the CNMI
“We want them to understand what it is they can do as a young student. So the kids come in here and they listen to speakers and see pictures so they understand why visitors come here and what they can do to make the visitors keep coming. It all starts at home, at our schools, “she said.
At the end of the day, Benavente said, the hope is to get everyone, including students, to help promote the beauty of the CNMI and further entice more tourists to visit.
“We’re going to keep promoting. We and [the Marianas Visitors Authority] are doing our best to market our destination. But if you look at the global events…the [arrival] numbers aren’t really getting back to pre-pandemic numbers. But we’re still going to keep promoting, right. Nothing will stop us from promoting As our speakers told the kids: It’s up to you to promote the islands, put it on Instagram, or on Facebook, or wherever you can, and promote the island as one of the most beautiful places in the world,” she added.
Aside from hearing from speakers on the importance of tourism and their roles in promoting the islands, there was also an exhibit of the many different agencies who play a part in beautifying the CNMI.
