MVA tries to rescue China tourism plan

As the Department of Labor and Immigration sought to curb the influx of Chinese nationals onto the islands, Marianas Visitors Authority board chairman Dave M. Sablan moved swiftly to save the plan of enticing tourists from mainland China visit the CNMI.

MVA is eyeing the huge tourism market in China which many people believe would help save the beleaguered Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino. But DOLI has suspended indefinitely the issuance of entry permits to citizens of the People’s Republic of China due to refusal of Chinese officials to cooperate in accepting the return of its nationals deported from the Commonwealth.

To convince the administration relax its immigration laws on tourists from PROC, Sablan said he will propose a set of guidelines to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to be followed in allowing the entry of Chinese nationals in the Northern Marianas.

According to Sablan, non resident workers from China should be treated differently since the immigration office would use a separate procedure before they are allowed entry to the CNMI.

Under the plan, MVA will ask the three authorized travel agents in China to help designate the CNMI as one of the authorized destinations of PROC nationals. Since these three travel agencies will be responsible in processing the papers of outbound Chinese, local agents will likewise be appointed to handle the documentation of incoming travelers from PROC.

The local travel agencies will be required to post a $200,000 bond each to be used to defray the expenses of the CNMI government in repatriating Chinese who will overstay.

“It will be the responsibility of the agent to collect the travel documents and tickets of these tourists while they are staying here for three to four days. I am confident that our system will work,” Sablan said.

DOLI Secretary Mark D. Zachares has ordered officials and employees of his department to cease processing the entry permits of nationals from mainland China in a memorandum issued December 16.

The recent move is a stumbling block to the plan of MVA officials develop alternative markets to save the sagging tourism economy. Japan, the island’s main source of tourists, has been experiencing its worst recession in decades which resulted in a double-digit decline in arrivals of Japanese visitors.