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MVA: Tinian has more to offer
TINIAN—There are more sites to see and things to do on Saipan’s island neighbor and that’s why the Marianas Visitors Authority has continued to aggressively promote Tinian to the CNMI’s target markets. Tinian is also expecting visitor arrivals to gradually increase, especially once the two hotels being constructed finally open.
MVA Tinian field office representative Vida Borja said that their goal is to bring in more foreign visitors with events like last week’s annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival, which is one way of promoting the island.
“The festival not only showcases local food, products, arts, and crafts but also the talents of the local artists that could equal those in the international scene.”
Tinian’s proximity to Saipan, the CNMI’s largest and most populous island, is also an advantage and it only takes less than 10 minutes to visit the island by plane.
Tinian also boasts of shrines, ruins, prehistoric and other historical sites like the Latte Stones and the airfield where the Enola Gay, which carried the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city of Hiroshima that helped end World War II, took off.
Tinian also has white sand beaches with the pristine water and the marine life around the coral reefs are ideal for snorkeling or scuba diving.
“Tinian has lot to offer. That’s why we expect more aggressive promotion. Tourists who had already visited the island are also helping promote the island by word of mouth to their friends” added Borja.
A crew from Japanese public broadcasting network NHK also filmed the festival last week, while XTERRA Saipan regular Kaon Cho also joined the festivities.
“They are our partners in helping promote Tinian and the CNMI. We hope that Kaon Cho would inspire more Koreans to visit us here,” said Borja.
Cho joined the Tour de Tinian and Borja said organizers are planning to make it into an international race.
Borja added that they expect car rental companies to also increase their fleet of vehicles to address the transportation issue once Alter City Group and Bridge Investment Group open their hotels.
