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MVA, DOLI give China tourism plan a boost
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Posted on Jan 12 1999
The Marianas Visitors Authority and the Department of Labor and Immigration have agreed yesterday to finalize the guidelines this week in connection with the plan to entice tourists from China to visit the CNMI.
When the guidelines are established, MVA will seek the approval of Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to eventually allow the tourism officials to visit China, said Dave M. Sablan, board chair of MVA. “We outlined the steps that we have to take and the things that need to be clarified before we get the governor’s approval to go to China,” he said.
The main objective of the trip is to convince officials from the People’s Republic of China to include the Northern Marianas in the list of authorized destinations of Chinese nationals. However, Sablan noted that the progress of the plan will all depend on the approval of the federal government.
While he recognized DOLI’s concern on the possible problems which the influx of Chinese nationals on the island may bring, Sablan said he has drawn up some steps to be followed to address the problem.
The authorized travel agencies in China will send the background information of the Chinese tourist who will be coming to the CNMI. These will be checked by DOLI before they are given the required clearance.
A local tour agency acceptable to the Chinese travel agents will collect the travel documents of the tourists and see to it that they will leave the scheduled date of departure. The local counterpart of the Chinese travel agencies will be required to post a bond of $250,000.
Progress on MVA’s plan to tap the huge Chinese market to come to the CNMI moved very slow after DOLI suspended indefinitely the issuance of entry permits to citizens of PROC due to refusal of Chinese officials to cooperate in accepting the return of its nationals deported from the Commonwealth.
But non-resident workers from China should be treated differently from the tourists since a separate procedure would be used for their entry to the CNMI, said Sablan.
MVA has been eyeing to develop alternative markets to save the sagging tourism economy after Japan, its main source of tourist, was plunged in its worst recession in decades.
