MVA lobbies for more funds • Tenorio says tourism office braces for aggressive marketing

In its bid to strengthen the CNMI’s presence in the international travel market, the Marianas Visitors Authority has asked the Legislature for an additional $1.75 million for its advertising campaign.

MVA’s budget for Fiscal 2000 was pegged at $5.88 million by the Office of Budget and Management, 16 percent lower than the current appropriation.

In a meeting with members of the House of Representatives, MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio appealed for increased funding to allow the tourism office carry out an effective marketing campaign.

“Our goal is to create the demand and increase the mind share. We are hoping to stimulate more carriers to fly directly to the CNMI,” said Tenorio.

During the meeting, the tourism chief emphasized the need for an aggressive marketing to help position the Northern Marianas as a quality destination.

He said with the cutthroat competition in the travel industry, an effective marketing campaign will help the Northern Marianas in increasing its market share in Japan, the island’s main source of tourists.

Tenorio noted that there is an urgent need to create a distinct image for Saipan to set it apart from Guam. “We see a very strong competition to go after Japan and we have to remain competitive if we want to increase our market share,” he said.

Compared to the CNMI, other destinations have poured in huge amounts of money for promotion. The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau has a budget of $45 million, while Australia has developed a $105 million campaign for the next three years.

The planned campaign will focus on increasing awareness of the diversity of the CNMI’s tourism product. “It will highlight both the natural attractions of the destination as well as the broad range of tourism experiences that can be enjoyed in the CNMI,” said Tenorio.

Tourist arrivals in the CNMI have drastically declined since the Asian economic crisis begun in July 1997. Businesses believe that it would be difficult for the island economy to go back to its pre-Asian crisis boom when visitor arrivals reached 726,690, or a 66 percent jump over 1996.

Due to the currency devaluation of Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar, traveling to the CNMI has become very expensive for visitors from Japan and Korea, while the destinations in Asia have become much cheaper.

As a result, airlines servicing the CNMI have reduced or terminated direct flights from major markets. Airline seats have dropped from 33,316 to 14,263 seats per week, a 43 percent drop. Seats from Japan went down to 34.4 percent (8,122), followed by Korea, 58 percent (1,560) and Guam, 74 percent (4,203).

Various airlines have assured tourism officials that they would restore seat capacity level if they stimulate travel demand to the CNMI. This has led MVA to reassess and refine its marketing positioning in Asia, region, Tenorio said.

“We see this decline in Asian visitor arrivals as an opportunity for positive change and development. We anticipate that when recovery comes, the CNMI will be positioned to enter the new millennium with strong and sustainable growth out of this important region,” he added.