{"id":223716,"date":"2016-03-23T06:06:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=223716"},"modified":"2016-03-23T06:06:02","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:06:02","slug":"cnmi-commits-reviving-japan-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/cnmi-commits-reviving-japan-market\/","title":{"rendered":"CNMI commits to revive Japan market"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chris<\/a>
Chris Concepcion, third from left, will be the Marianas Visitors Authority\u2019s new managing director starting April as Perry Tenorio, fifth from left, separates with the agency on Friday. The two are seen here posing with the MVA board and Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, who has expressed his support for Concepcion and the MVA in reviving the Japan market. (Frauleine Villanueva-Dizon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reviving the Japan tourism market in the CNMI will be the focus of the current administration even as Gov. Ralph DLG Torres yesterday announced the appointment of Chris Concepcion as the new managing director of the Marianas Visitors Authority, replacing Perry Tenorio who is resigning on March 25. <\/p>\n

Concepcion was announced as the incoming managing director after the board approved Tenorio\u2019s motion for Concepcion to take his place during the MVA\u2019s board meeting yesterday. Concepcion, formerly the sales account executive of Delta Air Lines\u2019 Saipan office, will officially come on board MVA on April 18.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres was present to express his support to the incoming managing director and his deep commitment to reviving the Japanese tourism market. <\/p>\n

Torres said their first order of business will be to send a delegation to Japan to meet with their government, business, and tourism counterparts to reaffirm ties with the said country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to assure Chris as well as MVA that we are going to prioritize the Japanese market. We are going to Japan and with Chris now [at the] helm in April 18, that will be our first order of business, sit down with him and schedule our plan,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

Torres said he wanted to assure the commitment not only by saying it, but also by being present. They will also reprogram MVA funds to prioritize the Japan market. He added that he will also be meeting with the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands to see how they can allocate a certain percentage of rooms to Japanese agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to assure our Japanese market that this administration is moving forward not just giving resources but assisting the new executive director on board to revamp the Japanese market,\u201d Torres said, \u201cThis is a step for all of us, not just Chris or the board, but as well as the administration. I wanted to give the administration and the new executive director the full commitment of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres said he wants to bring back the diversified and balanced tourism industry in the CNMI.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are moving into a little bit [of a] different direction because our percentage, our distribution of tourists is different,\u201d he added, \u201cWe were hoping we can reach back out to the 30\/30\/30, 30 percent Japanese, 30 percent Chinese, and 30 percent Korean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres believes in Concepcion\u2019s capability in reviving the market that has been dwindling for years. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe he is one individual that knows the Japanese market more than anyone because of his affiliation with Delta Air Lines. I believe this would give us new direction, focusing a lot on reviving the Japanese market so that we will have an equal distribution of tourism,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

Concepcion shares the same view with the governor, and noted the importance of reaffirming ties with the Japanese, and CNMI\u2019s long relations with Japan. <\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, we need to reaffirm and strengthen the relations that we have with our partners in Japan. I think it\u2019s very important in the Japanese culture and the Japanese business culture,\u201d Concepcion said<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have very long ties, historical relations with Japan. They built the economy here in the \u201980s and the \u201990s and our historical relationship goes further than that. We go back over a century with Japan,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Concepcion also said that it is important to balance the industry not just through increased tourist arrivals but investors from Japan as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we stabilize the economic environment where it\u2019s profitable for Japanese companies to invest, we have some existing Japanese investors that are here, multi-million dollar investments that are here, and so it\u2019s important to sort of reaffirm our ties with those companies, as well as invite new ones to come in and invest here in the CNMI so that there\u2019s more incentive to bring in Japanese tourists if there are Japanese investors here in the CNMI,\u201d Concepcion said.<\/p>\n

While their focus will be in the Japan market, Concepcion also said they need to maintain a strong presence in existing markets such as China, Korea, Taiwan, and Russia as well as tap in the Southeast Asian market with Philippine Airlines coming on board in June.<\/p>\n

Aside from leaving Delta Air Lines, Concepcion will also be resigning as director of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank Chris for accepting the position. I know it\u2019s not easy to leave Delta,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

Torres also thanked Tenorio for \u201chaving the vision to be part of MVA\u201d as well as for his services to the CNMI\u2019s tourism industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Perry, Dangkulu Na Si Yu\u2019us Ma\u2019ase, for your dedication and commitment and all that you\u2019ve gone through here,\u201d Torres said, \u201cI want to thank you for your service and all the board for the amount of years you\u2019ve dedicated on tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

MVA board chair Marian Aldan-Pierce likewise thanked Tenorio and welcomed Concepcion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very sad to Perry go. Perry has been a wonderful managing director and Chris has big shoes to fill. Perry has led MVA through very, very tough times and the board has been very lucky to have had someone like Perry,\u201d Pierce said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited to have Chris here, he\u2019s young, he\u2019s very articulate, very well respected within the community, [he] certainly will bring new energy to the board and we\u2019re all looking forward to working with Chris,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

After 21 years of service, Tenorio will be separating with MVA on Friday. MVA deputy managing director Judy Torres will serve as acting managing director beginning Tenorio\u2019s departure and until Concepcion comes on board on April 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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