MVA pushes for China market
Marianas Visitors Authority Board Chair Dave M. Sablan has asked Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to adopt the procedure followed by the U.S. Consulate in China in processing the travel documents of Chinese nationals who travel to the United States.
In a move to facilitate the entry of selected Chinese nationals on the island, Mr. Sablan recommended to the governor to allow the initial entry of visitors from Guangzhou on a trial basis.
A team of MVA officials led by MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio, Marketing Manager Norman Berg and Mr. Sablan went to Hong Kong where they met with tour operators from the former British colony and Guangzhou.
Mr. Sablan gave his recommendations to the governor during a meeting Wednesday to brief the governor about the results of the MVA fact-finding mission. MVA was assisted by Kenneth Wan, managing director of Continental Airlines, in their trip.
Tourism officials have been eyeing alternative markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and China for the CNMI in a move to revive the ailing tourism economy which has been badly shattered as a result of the regional crisis.
According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, some over 45 million people from mainland China went on overseas trip in 1999 alone. A travel data record from China Travel Services revealed that 221,196 traveled to the United States in 1998. In 1999, outbound travel from China reached more than 53 million, of which 219,114 visited the United States.
In Guangzhou, MVA met with representatives of four government-owned travel agencies — Guangzhou Merchants International Travel Co., China Guangdong Overseas Travel Corp., China Travel Service and GZL International Travel Service Ltd.
These travel agents would prefer to initially send a minimum of 10 in a group. A staff of the agency will be sent to accompany the group.
A Chinese national who would like to apply for a passport and a visa to the United States usually visits any of the four offices for assistance. The issuance of passport depends on the discretion of the Chinese government.
Depending on the required length of travel abroad and other factors, the Chinese government would issue either a one-year, two-year or even a five-year passport. In most cases, a customer traveling as a tourist is issued a one-year passport.
In asking the applicant to complete a U.S. visa application, the agent verifies the information such as bank account, criminal record, civil status and other personal data before it is even forwarded to the U.S. Consulate Office.
The U.S. Consul usually processes the application within a day or two only if the applications are from the four biggest travel agencies. Anyone under 30 years old is automatically sent to the U.S. Consulate office for personal interview. Anyone granted a U.S. visa becomes a full responsibility of the U.S. Consulate Office.
Those who were not interviewed but received their visa will remain under the responsibility of the respective travel agent while they are still abroad.
A representative from China Travel Service told MVA officials that they have taken extra precaution in making sure that their clients return after the trip because they are afraid to lose the privilege accorded to them by the U.S. Embassy in China.
“I strongly believe that if we can only adopt the process adopted by the U.S. Consulate in China, then we can effectively diminish the concerns,” said Mr. Sablan.
The CNMI is not yet an authorized destination or even the United States for nationals of mainland China and travel to these destinations are approved on a case by case basis.
Currently, the CNMI government allows Chinese nationals with a valid U.S. visa to visit the island. Hong Kong residents are not required to present authorization to board when they travel to the Northern Marianas.
