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Magazine to promote CNMI in Russia
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Posted on Jul 16 2005
To better promote the CNMI to the Russian market, Marianas Tourists Agency president Oleg Chentsov would soon publish a glossy Russian magazine about the destination.
Chentsov said the magazine would be 24 pages long and is one of the two non-profit projects he has planned to help beef up the tourism industry in the Northern Marianas—a market he claims has tremendous potential in the former Soviet Union.
His first initiative is the website www.saipan.ru, which is expected to be launched in cyberspace at the end of the month.
Chentsov said the magazine would contain general information about the Commonwealth and advertisements of the different establishments in the islands. He said there would be helpful instruction in Russian, such as how to use local phone cards.
He said the magazine would also contain information on major events in the CNMI such as the Taste of the Marianas, Flame Tree Festival, and Liberation Day. The history of the Northern Marianas would also be featured so Russians would know about the Commonwealth’s storied past. He also said the magazine would contain information on all hotels in the CNMI.
Chentsov earlier said that when he first came to the islands eight years ago, the destination was not too appealing for his countrymen. Russians before would always ask him where Saipan is and its name sounded more Chinese or Japanese than anything else.
Since the information about the island was always in English or in another language, Russians would tend to pass the opportunity to visit the island due to lack of information. He said there was never enough information about the island, so Russians always ended up going to other destinations.
He said back then, the number of the Russians visiting the island was so few that you could count them with your own fingers, but now Saipan receives at least 300 to 400 Russian guests annually.
Chentsov said his magazine is 99 percent completed. He said he would still need to add more information about the bars and dining areas in the CNMI. Chentsov said he would need to ask for the support of local government offices like the Marianas Visitors Authority for assistance in its printing.
