CNMI gets over $1.7M estimated ad value in 2009

A view of Garapan as seen from Mt. Tapuchao. Photo by Raqs

THEY came at different times of the year: photographers and writers from, newspapers, broadcasters from radio stations, reporters from television stations, web site representatives, tour operators and travel agencies.

They all share a common goal and that is to visit the sights, feel and see the famous attractions of Saipan, Tinian and Rota and go back to their own places to produce articles and commercials to let the whole world know that the CNMI is a place worth visiting.
The visitors went to the famed locations such as the white sand beaches of Managaha Island, the scenic natural sites of the Grotto, Bird Island, Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff, the Korean Peace Memorial on Saipan, to the historical sites on Tinian and Rota. They sampled the optional tours available tours including arts and culture, dinner cruise, diving, eco/outdoor adventure, family activities, fishing, movie theatre, shopping, spa/fitness, sightseeing historical tours, water activities, wedding and honeymoon, and others.
They all experienced the uniqueness that spells the totality of the CNMI, and in return they have done their part in providing exposure to the islands to the rest of the world.
The success of all these fam tours are due to the efforts of the Marianas Visitors Authority through its managing director Perry Tenorio and the island’s tour agencies, hotel and restaurant operators and other sponsors who have worked with MVA to facilitate a smooth stay for the visitors.
From January to December this year, the CNMI has received over $1.7 million value of media exposure on TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and web site promotions. The products of the familiarization tours were targetted at millions of viewers, readers and listeners in the with the aim of attracting them to come and visit the CNMI.
With the visitor arrival figures steadily decreasing over the past years,
Here’s a glimpse of the exposures for this year based on information released by the MVA.

January

The popular East Asia boy band “TVXQ” was here from Jan. 13-17 to videotape an upcoming music video and SBS TV, one of the three major channels in Korea.

February

On Feb. 13, MVA hosted a familiarization tour from Asahi News Star, a cable and satellite news channel to introduce Tinian and Saipan as a destination for the senior market. It was also targeted to air on Yahoo! Japan. The estimated exposure value is $132,000.
On Feb.19, a tour group from from Busan, Korea packed in the sights of both Saipan and Rota. The group was composed of 12 tour agents and one representative each from newspaper Busan Ilbo, Saipan World Resort Korea office, Asiana Airlines, and the MVA Korea office.

March

CNMI was featured on air to 12 million radio listeners in Russia following a familiarization tour from representatives of Pevoe Popularnoe Radio in Moscow. The radio feature is valued at up to $100,000.
On March 13-17, an eight-member production team of the tourism channel “4S Charming” was here to produce 5-minute segments for the month of April. The show was targeted at over half a million viewers in 20 cities in China.
On March 21-26, a writer and photographer from Weekly Shinchou, a magazine reaching nearly 500,000 readers in Japan were here on a fam tour. The estimated value of the coverage is $54,000-$90,000
On March 23-27, reporters from Cosmopolitan, a monthly fashion magazine experienced numerous attractions for a supplement in Cosmopolitan Travel. The estimated value of the coverage is $102,000.

April

A six-member team from Brutus, a high-class fashion and lifestyle magazine in Japan visited Saipan for coverage introducing Saipan as a famous location for shooting covers. The approximate ad exposure value is $120,000.
Japan’s Body+ magazine, published monthly and reaches 70,000 readers, did a coverage of the January 2009 Winter Festival of Runs on Saipan and came back in April to do another 4-6 page feature with a publicity value of up to $76,000.

May

A 10-page coverage at an estimate ad exposure value of $45,000 was slated for Korea’s Singles Magazine in the Summer Special Travel Guide featuring destination travel information.
On May 29, the Housewives’ Life, a trend-setting Korean magazine targeting housewives slated four pages of coverage at an estimated exposure value of US$8,000.

June

Shape Magazine, a major Russian magazine reaching eight million readers was here to do a 6-page feature and an article on the magazine’s website. The estimated value of the article is US$250,000
From June 15-19, a five-member team from Japan’s Monthly Diving magazine was set to feature 10 pages of the CNMI’s year-round diving available sites at an estimated ad value of over $60,000.
Marine Diving, a monthly magazine with a circulation of 170,000 in Japan covered the first Flipper Race held at Managaha on June 20. The estimated exposure value of the article is over $39,000.

July

On July 3-7, 28 media outlet representatives from Guangzhou, China were here on a fam tour.

August

Nine media outlets from China were here on a fam tour on Aug. 8, including the Shanghai TV Station with a viewership of over 100 million, website integrated CCTV channel U.CCTV.com, Sina.com, video sharing website Youku.com, travel guidebook Gootrip Magazine, magazine Elite Traveler, newspaper journal The Labor Daily, Metro DM, and flight magazine The Moment. The total estimated value of exposure from this fam tour was over $58,000.

September

Six Russian media outlets visited CNMI on a 10-day fam tour last Sept. with an estimated ad value of US$458,000.

October

NS Homeshopping cable station and JAUTOUR of Korea visited the NMI to film a TV commercial advertising travel packages to this tropical resort destination. The one-hour commercial and interactive buying program, set to air on Oct. 31 has an estimated ad exposure value of $40,000.

November

Writers and photographers from the Chinese Kunming TV Tourist Channel were here to do a coverage set to air this month. The station reaching over one million households which was set to air this month.
The CNMI was slated to receive 15 minutes of prime time TV coverage each week last month on the Yel-Arna TV channel, owned by the Khabar Agency. The coverage was targetted to reach an audience of 13 million potential travelers, with an estimated exposure value of over USD $67,000.
Last month, MVA also hosted two media personnel from Delta Airline’s in-flight magazine SKY. Saipan will be featured in the January/February 2010 issue of SKY, with an estimated total ad value of $65,000.

December

MVA and the Japan Saipan Travel Association hosted the annual Marianas Tourism Academy 2009 for 56 travel agents and media representatives from major cities across Japan recently attended the annual from Dec. 7-11. The Marianas Tourism Academy aims to give the travel industry affiliates a chance to familiarize themselves with attractions, activities and facilities in the islands.
MVA and the rest of the community hopes that the seeds sown through hosting numerous fam tours will grow and will result to more tourists here in the future.

(This article was first published HERE)

A morning hike to Naftan Point

5 a.m. The shrill ringing of the alarm clock jolted me from an hour’s sleep on Saturday morning, and I had to drag protesting muscles up to get ready for a trek to another one of Saipan’s famous hiking destinations.

Hiking to Naftan Point, says our trek organizer Jacob, would take only about 20 minutes from his cousin’s house. We started walking in the darkness toward this historical spot at the southernmost part of Saipan, but it was only after almost an hour later when we reached the Hawaiian Rock where the real trek began. Talk about 20 minutes!
As the sun began its ascent to the skies, my energy level was slowly beginning to drain, not to mention that there was actually none to start with.

We plodded on, asking over and over how far do we have to go and agonizing over the thought of the way back until we finally emerged through a clearing and stepped into a whole new world.

A spectacular panorama was before us but an eerie silence seems to pervade the place. It felt as though we were intruders into another world.

Naftan Point is an enchanting rugged terrain, with grass-covered corals, steep cliffs, numerous caves, plateaus, bushes and more ruins and relics from the World War 2. From a distance, the Forbidden Island seemed to issue a silent but daring invitation to anyone who would want to challenge its name. Over 50 feet below the sharp cliff lines, the thunderous noises created by the crashing waves would make one think twice before standing on the cliffs’ edge.

Hiking to Naftan Point without proper ammunition (a.k.a. camera and tripod) would be unforgivable because the place is a photographer’s dream. It was not that easy to pick your way through the sharp stones and rocks concealed by the untrimmed grasses though. One wrong step and the corals you are stepping on could crack. I did not have the chance to go near the very edge of the cliffs because aside from my progress being hampered by the tripod, I had second thoughts about gambling my life and my camera from the edge. After a few quick bites of tuna sandwiches and sips of water, we took a few minutes of rest but our time was running out. With only the shelter from the huge rock, we know it would not be long before the shade would be gone as the sun gets higher.

We found an old Japanese canon in one of the ruined bunkers at Naftan Point, along with several other war relics. I could just imagine the war when the canon spewed death fumes all the way to Tinian.

We finally started our way back. And that was when everything turned awry.

Two of my companions—Jeanette and Fe went ahead of the group. The six of us followed, but Jacob got other ideas and led us into a “short cut”, which we hesitantly took. But anyway, any change in the road seemed welcome so we followed the leader. However, the road we were following seemed to be going in circles and we seemed to be walking endlessly. When we began to see pink flowers on the vines along the road, I began to guess that the trail we were following was leading to Obyan Beach, much much farther from our car. I was dreadfully right.

We plodded on and reached the end of the shady trail. Suddenly, a dusty, winding road shimmering in the noonday heat stretched out before us. Obyan Beach was a few miles below, and I knew there was no choice but to force my over-tired body to move on.

It was not easy for somebody like me whose only exercise everyday is to go up the stairs of the office or the Superior Court. Imagine walking up the Obyan Road toward the direction of Hawaiian Rock under the 11 o’clock sun, with not a single tree or shade in sight. I was at the farthest rear of the group, trying to concentrate in putting one foot ahead of the other to walk on.

With every dragging, agonizing step I took, my camera seemed to grow heavier and it took real effort to stay awake and not give in to the darkness that threatened to envelop me. After over an hour of fighting the urge to cry, I finally convinced buddy Andrew to seek some shade in the bushes. Under ordinary circumstances, I would never imagine going into those bushes. Andrew volunteered to spread his towel to cover the sharp bushes so we could sit on for a while. Just when I felt so helpless, I got a call that a car was coming for us. I could have kissed the car's wheels with joy!

Naftan Point has still so much to offer and we missed much, but I would love to go back anytime. Minus the unplanned miles of hiking.

This article was first published HERE

A banana, a boat and a ride

If you think that being a non-swimmer in a small island like Saipan is enough to make your life miserable and boring, you’re quite wrong. The island abounds with interesting water activities that gives you access to experience all the thrills and excitement of getting wet.

If you have been here for sometime, you won’t have missed seeing inflatable yellow or pink banana-shaped raft being pulled by a boat around the island. You won’t have missed seeing up to six people garbed in life jackets and helmets and holding on to a piece of plastic arm grip for dear life as the boat makes huge waves on the water.

Getting up very early last Saturday didn’t faze me like ordinary days because I was looking forward to a day of adventure at the Managaha Island. After a hearty lunch, Tasi Tours supervisor for Managaha Yuka Saito told us that she can book us for a ride at the banana boat. Five minutes before 1 p.m. I was already at the area designated for passengers of the banana boat, clumsily tying the knots of my lifejacket and my helmet.

“If the banana boat flips over, let go. Don’t hold on,” the boat captain instructed just before we pushed away from the shore. I fought the fear that was starting to build up inside me and instead started to pray that my life jacket can hold me if we indeed flip over. I chose the rear seat and it was a good decision because the five people in front of me warded off much of the water. We started off smoothly, but when we were some meters away from Managaha, the boat picked up speed and we rode above high waves, crashing through the breakers into the blue waters.

A thrilling ride indeed, with me saying my prayers so fast and waiting for the signal to abandon the banana boat whenever the boat made quick twists and turns.

As I held on for life on the small handgrip, my imagination went wild. If there was a leak or a small hole in the inflatable balloon, that would be my end, but of course it was just my imagination. I feared yet at the same time was excited at the thought of being forced to jump into the blue waters.

I clung to the assurance Saito gave us earlier that Tasi Tours has always put the safety of their customers in all the marine sports as their top priority.

The ride was brief, and before we knew it, we were heading back to shore. The memory of those 20 minutes of wet, thrilling adventure is something I will treasure.

Another option to the banana boat is the Banana Split. Unlike the banana boat where you have to balance your body, you can comfortably sit on the banana split but the thrill lies on the incredibly dizzying speed as you skim over the water.

Saito said they also refer to the banana split as water jet. She said the banana boat ride is available for children and adults for $30.

Other thrilling marine sports are available at the Managaha Island like scuba diving, bubble maker, sasy, parasailing, aqua naut, and snorkeling tour. For more information, please call Tasi Tours & Transportation Inc. at (670) 234-7148, fax (670) 235-7141, email managahatasi@tasitours.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.tasi-tours.com.

This article was first published HERE

Island in Flames

Sometime between March and July each year, Saipan seems like an island in flames when seen from a distance.

This is the time when the Flame Trees are at its full bloom, displaying a brilliance that resembles flames and giving the whole island a spectacular look.

I arrived on Saipan on a February and did not pay much attention to the first few orange blossoms that peeped out from the seemingly dead twigs along Beach Road, but one morning, I looked around with wonder. It was as though somebody went around in the night, touched all the twigs and branches with a magic wand and sprayed the streets with the colorful blooms that I was to learn later as CNMI’s national tree.

If you had been here on island for eternity, you may just take it for granted but for the newcomers, it’s a whole new world.

the leafless twigs before the flame tree blossoms

For two years now, driving from the Flame Tree Avenue at the airport down to Garapan along Beach Road and to Marpi during these months has been wonderful and I just can’t seem to get enough photos. The vivid red and orange flowers stand in total contrast to the backdrop of bright green foliage, blue skies and seas that would make a photographer’s hand itch.

Try going up to the balcony of the 15th floor of the Palms Resort Saipan facing the road and you will see a spectacular panorama that will take your breath away.

I learned from the internet that the first Flame Trees or “Tronkun At’but” were brought to Saipan by Francisco Borja Kaipat when he worked for the Marianas agriculture program in the 1960s. I read that the Flame Tree has been described as the most colorful tree in the world. Somebody told me there is also a yellow variety of the Flame Trees but it is something that I still have to see. If you know of one, feel free to email me. Meanwhile, here are some of my flame tree favorite photos...

up close and personal

an idyllic spot at Smiling Cove made much more attractive by a sprinkling of flame tree flowers

The first few flame tree flowers create a huge difference to the ordinarily eerie atmosphere at the Suicide Cliffs in Marpi

This article was originally published HERE

for more flame tree PHOTOS CLICK ME

Cooling off at Sugar Dock

IF it’s a quick dip in the shallow waters, a few minutes or a whole day of rest and relaxation you want right in the center of Susupe, the best place to go to is Sugar Dock, located a few meters just across from the Mt. Carmel Church.

The long, wide stretch of cement road leads to the end of the dock which is a favorite of many especially in the early morning and evening hours where many just hang around to enjoy and breathe the salty tang of air from the sea.
Anytime of the day, the sight of people casting their lines in the water is common.
The beach at Sugar Dock is ideal for swimming especially for children with its crystal clear waters and fine, white sand. The beach has an open shower to rinse off the salty water when you have had enough, but if you are not in the mood to frolic in the sand and sea, the benches and cottages provide an idyllic spot to picnic with family and friends. You can pass time watching banana boat riders or jet skiers who leave huge splashes of waves behind them. Or you can daydream, laze around, meditate or just cool off on a humid day.
Sugar Dock beach is one of Saipan’s beautiful beaches and you don’t have to go far to get there.
Oh, one more tip for sunset buffs—Sugar Dock is one of the best places to go to on Saipan. If you have not experienced spending those few marvelous moments watching the full round sun making its downward journey and finally dipping and disappearing beyond the horizon, you have been missing a lot. Grab a few minutes of your time one day and be fortunate to enjoy and witness one of nature’s spectacular wonders unfold.

This article was first published HERE