Russian website about Saipan in the works

Saipan as a travel destination will soon reach at least 100 million of Russia’s population as a new website about the island would soon go online.

The website—www.saipan.ru—is expected to be launched and fully running at the end of the month, according to Marianas Tourists Agency president Oleg Chentsov.

Chentsov said yesterday that the website is one of two non-profit projects he has planned to help beef up the tourism industry on Saipan, a market that has tremendous potential in the former Soviet Union.

He said the website aims to promote the island of Saipan and would contain vital information about the island that would be helpful to Russian tourists.

Chentsov said www.saipan.ru is undergoing finishing touches and is being developed by a professional website developer called Novosibirsk in Siberia.

“The website is being handled by a specialized designer all the way from Siberia,” he said.

He previewed the website and it has text written in Russian. He said the website contains basic information about the island and detailed information about the hotels on Saipan. There is also a link to transportation such as transit via Japan information as well as links regarding online services for VIPs.

Tour packages are also available on the website that includes packages for large companies that wish to reward their employees with vacation trips to the island.

Chentsov also said the website would include a great destination getaway promo called “Forward to the Past.” Under the promotion, tourists could celebrate New Year’s Eve not once but twice—first on Saipan, when the day begins, and the next day in Hawaii. “So they will celebrate two New Year’s Eves,” he said.

Chentsov said he is hoping the promo would work out.

He also said he is spending $2,000 to $3,000 just to develop the website. He said the website would be available at the end of the month but they would have to test the website prior to publishing it online.

Chentsov said when he came to the island eight years ago, the destination was not very popular among Russians. Back then, when you do a search online and typed Saipan on most popular websites in Russia, the results would always be zero, he added.

Nowadays, it’s a totally different thing because Saipan has begun to be recognized throughout Russia. Chentsov said Saipan now receives at least 300 to 400 Russian guests annually.

“It’s picking up every year,” he said.

Before, he recalled that Russians would always ask where Saipan is and the name sounded like some Chinese or Japanese island. He said he would always promote and explain to them about Saipan.

Since the information about the island was always in English or in another language, the Russians would tend to pass the opportunity to visit the island due to lack of information.

“There was never enough information about the island so they would ask why they need to go to Saipan,” he said.

Chentsov said Saipan is now known like how Russians know Thailand. Though there is still no direct connection or faster connecting flights to Saipan, he said, Russians are still interested in visiting Saipan. He said right now they would have to go to South Korea or Japan to connect to Saipan.

“The Russian economy is continuously going well, people have money,” he said and that’s the reason why he believes Saipan will lure more and more tourist from his homeland.