TO LURE AIRLINES Tinian lawmakers seek head tax exemption
In a move to save the financially beleaguered Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, the Tinian Joint Legislative Delegation has asked the Commonwealth Ports Authority to grant a one-year head tax exemption to any airline servicing international flights to Tinian.
The eight political leaders led by Mayor Francisco Borja and Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano also sought the grant of a one year free property lease to the company that will establish the fuel facility on the island.
In a letter sent to Board Chairman Roman S. Palacios, the Tinian Legislative Delegation underscored the importance of having direct flights for the gaming industry to take off as soon as possible to ensure the survival of the only hotel-casino complex there.
Any negative reaction from other airlines servicing Saipan should not deter CPA from making any decision should it decide to grant the request because the Tinian situation is unique, the delegation said.
They said the only hope is to make Tinian accessible by bringing in premium players and high rollers from Asian countries and help Dynasty attract more investors when they see that local officials are addressing the problem.
According to the Tinian Delegation, the island’s gaming industry is in serious trouble “due to our inability in completing the promised airport infrastructure, which was to coincide with the opening of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.”
The multi-million hotel casino complex was inaugurated amid the Asian economic crisis that has battered the half-a-billion-dollar tourism economy of the CNMI. Barely one year before its soft opening, Dynasty started laying off employees due to serious financial problem, which the staff claimed was partly due to mismanagement.
Since there are no international flights servicing Tinian at present, there would still be no reduction in revenue for the ports authority. “The idea here is to nurture the industry in anticipation of generating business for our island and for CPA a year from now,” the Tinian Delegation said.
The Tinian Delegation claimed that once the airport is fully functional and airlines are enticed to fly to Tinian, Dynasty expects to increase its yearly gross revenue from $26 million to more than $60 million.
The potential loss of revenue from the exemptions will offset by income generated from car rentals, space rentals, increased sales at the airport, parking fees, etc., they added.
Based on the new projections released by Dynasty when the new airport opens, Tinian will have additional 38,000 visitors for the first year, 62,000 more in the second year and 94,000 more in the third year.
This will be the result of a marketing campaign to be implemented by Dynasty once outside financing is completed. Dynasty is also looking at a minimum of six direct chartered flights per week on the first year, 10 flights per week on the second year and 15 flights per week on the third year.
