Recently, a brand-new one-stop service platform for Saipan tourism information, bookings, and reviews—Go Island Play (www.qudaowan.com)—has quietly gone live. Judging by its service model, it integrates the most popular online booking features, member reviews, and mobile services. The launch of this new tourism service platform serves as a window for China’s young self-guided travelers heading to Saipan to learn about local travel information. It also significantly disrupts the current conventional package travel model in China’s Saipan tourism market, which typically consists of “charter flights + hotels + optional activities.”
The website primarily focuses on tourism information about Saipan, USA, providing domestic travel enthusiasts with objective, accurate, and timely hotel booking information and local travel service guides. It also offers promotional information on dining, entertainment, and other local experiences for the Chinese community in Saipan, creating a powerful and convenient Saipan tourism lifestyle service platform.
With an international visual style, the website greatly enriches the range of Saipan tourism offerings and better interprets the international tourism image of “Saipan—the Pearl of the Western Pacific.” The site provides content such as “Hotel Bookings,” “Dining Reservations,” “Activity Bookings,” “Travel Information,” and “Visitor Reviews,” helping domestic travelers easily and conveniently access the most cost-effective Saipan travel information. Reporters also specifically compared some activity prices listed on the website with those offered by traditional travel agencies for the same items. For example, the Journey to Goat Island tour is priced at $20 per person on the website, while conventional travel agencies charge up to $35 per person—a price difference of 75%.
To this end, reporters contacted Ms. Luo, the head of MTSI (Micronesian Tour Service, Inc.), the local Saipan tour operator behind the website. Speaking about the motivation behind building the platform, Ms. Luo admitted, “Saipan tourism has become very mature after more than 10 years of development, but current Saipan travel packages in China are all-inclusive, leaving consumers unable to arrange their own hotels or meals, and the travel options are also quite limited. We’ve also noticed that some individual operators in Saipan are beginning to receive Chinese tourists. In order to better bring the most authentic and professional Saipan tourism services to Chinese travelers, we started considering directly entering the Chinese market.” “In addition to offering Chinese consumers the most cost-effective hotel bookings, we have also specially developed new travel programs, hoping to provide Chinese visitors to Saipan with a comfortable and personalized holiday!”
In 2013, Saipan received a total of 110,000 Chinese tourists. Entering 2014, new direct flight routes such as “Hangzhou-Saipan” and “Tianjin-Saipan” have been successively launched in China. By the end of January, there were 12 direct weekly flights from China to Saipan. In addition, regular flights operated by Asiana Airlines, Pan Am Airlines, and others, as well as Saipan’s visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, have made this Pacific island, just a 4–5 hour flight from China, a favorite island destination for Chinese travelers. At the same time, with the introduction of the new Tourism Law, self-guided travel is increasingly becoming a new model for overseas trips. MTSI’s entry into the Chinese market via “Go Island Play” (www.qudaowan.com) is clearly targeting the huge business opportunities in China’s self-guided tourism market.
It is reported that MTSI is the largest and most professional tour reception company in Saipan, with over 10 years of experience in providing specialized ground services on the island. Its main clientele comes from China, Japan, South Korea, and other regions, having served a cumulative total of 500,000 tourists. MTSI maintains strong cooperative relationships with star-rated hotels, A-grade restaurants, and professional tourism service providers (such as diving and car rental services) on the island. It independently develops Saipan tourism programs and owns the largest passenger bus fleet on the island. According to Ms. Luo, to welcome the upcoming influx of Chinese tourists from “Go Island Play,” over 50 professional guides at MTSI on the island have completed a specially designed “MTSI China Self-Guided Tourist Training Course,” aimed at delivering the most comprehensive customer service experience for Chinese visitors.
Currently, the “Go Island Play” service platform can be accessed via computer or mobile web browser. MTSI is continuously improving the website’s functions and content, and will gradually establish an integrated communication system that includes multi-language sub-sites, apps, and social media, providing even higher-quality services to all Chinese tourists traveling to Saipan.