HANMI says inclusion of PH to Guam/CNMI visa waiver program could bring in over 400K visitors

The Hotel Association for the NMI is in support of the Philippine House of Representatives’ efforts to include Philippines in the Guam/CNMI visa waiver program stating the inclusion could bring in over 400,000 tourists to the Marianas.

For years, the CNMI has relied on three markets to keep the tourism industry alive: Korea, Japan, and China.

However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, only the CNMI’s Korea market has recovered significantly while the Japan market continues to struggle. Meanwhile, due to geopolitical issues, the return of the CNMI’s China market has been slow.

Now, with the Philippine House of Representatives unanimously voting to pass House Resolution 332 (which essentially enlists the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs to request U.S President Joseph Biden to include the country in the existing Guam/CNMI visa waiver program), there is hope for a new source market that could greatly improve tourist arrivals in the Marianas.

In an official statement from HANMI, through the possible inclusion of Philippines to Guam/CNMI visa waiver program, there is a possibility of further diversifying the CNMI’s tourism industry while possibly bringing in over 400,000 new visitors.

“We support this as it brings in additional tourists and helps with the recovery of the tourism industry of NMI. The population of the Philippines is 115.6 million (in 2022), and according to data from FIES (PSA 2015) that 1.4% of them are high-income and 40% (app. 2 in every 5 people) of Filipinos belong to the middle-income class. Assuming that only 1 % of the 40% middle-income class population can afford to travel to NMI, that would equate to 460,000 people. In 2017, a total of 653,150 tourists arrived in the NMI. With only that 1% of the 40% will make up 70% of the 2017 arrivals. HANMI supports this from the perspective of NMI’s diversification of tourism market sources,” said HANMI.

In addition, HANMI says the Marianas has greatly benefitted from the contributions of Filipinos in terms of economic growth and the inclusion of the Philippines to the visa waiver program would mean a lot to them.

“We have encountered numerous Filipino families, colleagues, friends, and loved ones in the NMI and Guam, and we have greatly benefited from their contributions to the region’s economic growth. We understand that this change would mean a lot to our community members from the Philippines, especially in allowing families to easily stay connected in person,” said HANMI.

Ultimately, HANMI says the most important part of the passing of this House resolution is developing a strong, third source market in the absence of China.

“While we welcome this for the convenience of our workers, their families, and a potential increase in tourists, it’s critical to also remain focused on developing a strong, third source market that has the potential to generate the same high number of arrivals we had before the pandemic and before Yutu. If illegal stays or workers are a concern, requirements like the EVS-TAP under GUAM-CNMI Visa Waiver program may be seen as a practical solution,” said HANMI.

HANMI also continues to stress that it is still important for the CNMI to be granted an exemption to the U.S-China flight cap.

“Once again, it is crucial to obtain approval or the exemption of CNMI-only flights from China under Annex VI, and the Marianas Visitors Authority should be given the opportunity to promote to various countries, including the Philippines, China, and all others. Lastly, by having the increased number of international passenger flights, Commonwealth Ports Authority could also maintain their program at reduced costs in return for additional visitors,” said HANMI.

Philippine House Resolution 332 was first introduced by Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez in 2022 and was unanimously passed last Wednesday.