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MVA ups game for Golden Week
The Marianas Visitors Authority has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign promoting Skymark Airlines Inc.’s charter flights in April for the 10-day Golden Week holiday period in Japan that will be historic as the days also mark the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the succession of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito.
MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion disclosed yesterday that, according to the latest report that they received, the Skymark flights from Tokyo to the CNMI during Golden Week are nearly sold out.
“This is welcome news and something we expected, given the excitement we received for the first Skymark charters last month,” Concepcion said.
He said MVA is very upbeat about the future of the Japan market, with Skymark launching regular flights to the CNMI and not just charters.
This Golden Week, which starts on April 29, is unique in Japan’s history because the current Heisei Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30, the first Japanese emperor to do so in over 200 years.
Akihito’s son, Naruhito, is set to become the next Emperor of Japan on May 1, 2019, or right in the middle of Golden Week, which will be 10 days long this year.
“So we expect many Japanese will be taking longer vacations and many will be traveling overseas,” Concepcion said, adding that Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are the closest year-round beach resort destinations for the Japanese.
