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Summer time = happy children
Esma Sablan Pagarao shows the 2018 Saipan-da backpacks that the Marianas Visitors Authority began distributing vouchers to arriving children for on July 1, 2018. This is the 20th year the backpacks have been produced, and they are used annually in the MVA’s “Happy Children in Paradise” campaign. (Contributed Photo)
One of the Marianas Visitors Authority’s longest standing promotional campaigns has returned to put smiles on the faces of visiting children.
On July 1, 2018, the “Happy Children in Paradise” began providing pink, orange, or blue Saipan-da backpacks to all visiting children ages 12 and younger as a souvenir of their visit to The Marianas during the summer months. The MVA expects to give away approximately 16,000 of the 20th anniversary backpacks to happy kids this summer. The program also runs during Christmas time.
This will be the final year for Saipan-da to be utilized for the “Happy Children in Paradise” campaign.
“Saipan-da has been an integral part of ‘Happy Children in Paradise’ and many other campaigns of the MVA over the last two decades, especially in Japan,” said campaign coordinator and MVA Marketing specialist Brenda T. Repeki. “He has put smiles on the faces of hundreds of thousands of children throughout the years. We look forward to this summer’s distribution of backpacks and to Saipan-da’s retirement later this year.”
The summer campaign will run through Sept. 30, 2018. Ten participating hotels will distribute coupons to qualified guests during the period. The coupons will be redeemable at the T-Galleria Saipan-da Corner, where a live action Saipan-da will greet guests and be available for picture taking.
Originated in 1998 as a promotional tool for the then predominant Japanese market, Saipan-da is now embraced by children of all the many countries visiting The Marianas. (PR)
