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Time may be ripe to tap U.S. for tourists
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Posted on Dec 28 1998
With the decline in arrivals from its main markets in Asia, the federal government can help the Northern Marianas by enticing more tourists from the United States to visit the island, said Marianas Visitors Authority board chairman Dave M. Sablan.
Sablan said the federal government can influence U.S. carriers to assist in introducing incentive tours into the CNMI and for American corporations to relocate here.
He, however, expressed concern that efforts of the Northern Marianas officials to improve the tourism economy would suffer a big setback if the U.S. government takes over the CNMI immigration and wage functions.
Since Asia’s financial crisis hit the Northern Marianas, the Aviation Task Force and MVA have been looking for ways to entice more airlines to service the island. The reduction in tourist arrivals led Continental Micronesia to reduce its flights in major tourist markets of the Northern Marianas.
Japan, the main source of tourist, has been battling its worst recession in decades. While Japan Airlines has been aggressively carrying out its own marketing campaign to save its huge investment on the island, MVA has also been struggling to increase the visibility of the CNMI in Japan.
The CNMI’s sagging tourism industry will get a much-needed shot in the arm with the planned arrival of Navy vessels to call on the port of Saipan for a three to four-day rest and recreation of thousands of American servicemen.
Since the decline in arrivals last year, many businesses on the island have closed down specifically the luxury shops that cater to tourists. Although Japanese tourists have slowly increased arrivals, they have however, drastically cut their spending.
The CNMI now faces stiff competition with Korea, its former second biggest source of tourist, as the decline in the value of Korean won attracted many Japanese to go avail of the cheap tour packages.
