TRIP is extended to December

The Marianas Visitors Authority has decided to extend the Travel Investment Resumption Plan, or TRIP, to December to sustain the resumption of tourism in the CNMI.

According to MVA board chair Viola Alepuyo, MVA board members unanimously voted during the board of directors meeting last Friday to extend the TRIP program through Dec. 31 to allow more time for promotion in South Korea.

The program primarily provides subsidies to airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and related businesses to help sustain efforts to revive the CNMI’s tourism industry. It was originally supposed to last just eight weeks, or only until about September. Alepuyo said this extension decision will give travel agents in Korea more time to properly promote the Marianas.

The board also noted that the decision to provide more time for the TRIP program is a result of the growing number of vaccinations in Korea, an anticipated demand for travel during the Korean Chuseok holiday in September, and interest expressed by other airlines to fly to the Marianas.

In addition, with the end of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance fast approaching, MVA wants to see more businesses reopen.

“Our first priority is to maintain community safety, and we are very confident with the protocols and guidelines established by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the COVID-19 Task Force. Second to that is for our businesses to reopen so our people can return to work and have a source of income to feed their families and pay their bills when PUA ends,” she said.

“We are pleased to see more businesses reopening and people returning to work because of the program. It’s really a light at the end of the tunnel for our community members who have been able to return to work because more businesses have reopened their doors. While most of the arriving passengers have been returning residents availing of the flights, we are extending the program so we can continue to slowly restore tourism through the end of the year,” she added.

The program, which started on July 17 with the Familiarization Tour, supports weekly flights from Seoul-Incheon to Saipan by Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and T’Way Air.

The program also supports the full operation of Pacific Islands Club Saipan as the hybrid quarantine resort, where all arriving TRIP and Travel Bubble passengers will first quarantine, and two corridor hotels where passengers can stay after quarantine, Kensingon Hotel Saipan and Saipan World Resort.

MVA said it remains in constant communication with CHCC and the COVID-19 Task Force to ensure all the necessary precautions are taken to protect the community with this extension.

“As long as we continue to respond proactively and quickly as the COVID situation changes, we anticipate the program to be a success in terms of community safety,” she said.