NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. We bring you more pictures of last Friday’s reopening of T Galleria by DFS, Saipan. As reported, the store had been closed since late March 2020 because of the pandemic and the resultant disastrous impact on tourism to the island.
The event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by company executives and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands officials.
At least one-third of the store is open with more space to follow in coming months.
DFS Managing Director – Japan, Korea and Mid-Pacific Richard Gustafson said: “We’re so thrilled today to be able to contribute, change the course of the future, help this island as people get back to normalcy, and hopefully have some fun shopping along the way,” he said. “Thank you to all of you… a very big welcome back, a very big Biba (long live) DFS, Biba Saipan!” [Source: Saipan Tribune]
Gustafson said that there had been a marked pick-up in Korean arrivals recently. In February and March of this year, “we started to see a very different trend, and April was very healthy looking”, he told Marianas Variety. He noted that DFS is creating partnerships across the industry, including with Japanese and Korean travel partners to help revive the tourism sector.
