Saipan as a wedding destination

It has all the elements of a successful wedding marketing campaign. Get 11 Japanese couples to get married at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1999.

Watabe, the biggest wedding company in Japan, even invited Kei Kon Pie, the largest circulated wedding magazine in that country to cover the event. Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio officiated the wedding reaffirmation ceremony held at the American Memorial Park.

In this cutthroat competition for a bigger share in this niche market, Saipan is increasingly becoming a popular destination for Japanese who want to tie the knot.

Yoshio Watabe, senior managing director of Watabe Wedding Corp., says they are targeting to bring in 2,000 couples to get married here next year. This year lone the company handled the wedding of 1,800 couples in Saipan.

With 26 offices overseas, including Hawaii, Sydney, San Francisco and Paris, plus 20 displays in various international hotel chains, Watabe is optimistic that they can reach the target.

A wedding package handled by Watabe costs between $700 to $800, which include payment for the church, minister, flowers, bouquet, souvenir photos and limousine. The company also has wedding gowns and tuxedo suits for the couples to rent.

The governor lauds the wedding market strategy, saying this will help boost faltering tourist numbers since this type of activity usually includes family members and friends of the couple.

Wedding organizers say a couple usually bring with them eight to 30 guests.

According to J.M. Guerrero, consultant of Watabe, the company’s campaign began in January with the aim of lifting the sagging tourism industry. “Hopefully, with this publicity in the wedding magazine, we can get a bigger share of the market,” he said says.

Based on a recent survey conducted by Japan Travel Bureau, only 2.9 percent of Japanese spent their honeymoon in Japan, while 97.1 percent traveled abroad in Autumn 1999.

Average length of stay and cost in Japan is 4.7 days and $2,257 per couple, respectively, against 7.5 days at $4,724 per couple overseas.

Although Hawaii remains the most popular wedding destination, Saipan and Guam saw the biggest growth in overseas weddings, posting a 3.5 percent increase in popularity as a honeymoon destination among Japanese in 1999 compared to the previous year, according to a survey conducted by Japan Travel Bureau.

Overall, Hawaii held 26.4 percent of the wedding market in the world while Saipan and Guam got 6.1 percent during the period.

JTB explains shorter tour packages and cheaper rates are the key factors attracting Japanese couples to hold their weddings and honeymoon in Saipan and Guam.