Making tourism our business: Our neighborhood nemesis
As I mentioned last month in recapping the state of our Marianas tourism industry, arrivals from Korea are nearly 75% recovered compared to pre-pandemic levels, Japan is growing incrementally with three flights a week from Tokyo, and even FIT visitors (free independent travelers) from China are starting a come back, with transits through Seoul and Tokyo. As of July 2023, visitor arrivals this year are 44% recovered compared to fiscal year 2019 prior to the pandemic, and arrivals rates continue to move in the right direction.
And yet there is one major obstacle to becoming a world-class destination that is staring at us in the face. We encounter it every day, driving to work or school, heading to the grocery store, or walking to school. That problem is neighborhood blight.
By neighborhood, I mean every community we live, work, and frolic in—but especially our main tourism district of Garapan, downtown Songsong, the heart of San Jose on Tinian, and our major roadways. Many of us have become used to the condition or appearance of buildings and structures that are unfinished, abandoned, have holes, breaks, rot, cracking, spalling, peeling, rusting, and other evidence of physical decay or neglect, excessive use, or lack of maintenance. But it’s unattractive, unsafe, and to our visitors an unexpected and unpleasant letdown.
While the Marianas Visitors Authority is investing millions of dollars each year to entice travelers to choose Saipan, Tinian, and Rota over competing destinations like Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji or Hawaii, what awaits them when they arrive is a beautiful seascape and lush, green mountains—with rundown, dilapidated buildings in every direction. It’s a sore disappointment for our visitors who are wooed by Instagram-ready images of a clean, nature-based island paradise in a community that would otherwise appear to be environmentally conscious.
Fortunately—unlike pandemics, natural disasters, currency exchange rates, and other factors influencing tourism—the solution to the problem of blight and improving our physical environment is within our own hands. And there’s no better time than now to get serious about it. I invite everyone—regulatory agencies, building and property owners—to consider what they can do and join in addressing these issues—not just for our visitors, but for ourselves.
There is already a law in place to compel property owners on Saipan that hold blighted properties within the island “to be accountable to secure and maintain abandoned, vacant, and blighted properties.” Saipan Local Law No. 20-25 designates the Saipan Zoning Office to accomplish this, recognizing that blight properties “detract from the quality of life, as well as the economic opportunities, of those living around them. These types of conditions lower the livability of neighborhoods and can increase crime and calls for emergency services, all of which put additional strains on already taxed local budgets.” The law has been in the books since 2018. If we are serious about resolving our blight problem, the next step would be to strengthen the original law with an amendment establishing a framework within the Zoning Office and equipping them with the resources and full legal authority to move forward. It would be a sound investment in the safety, aesthetics, and economic growth of the island.
But it doesn’t take a law or the threat of penalty to act on this problem. Kudos to those already taking the lead. Numerous companies and non-profit organizations stepped up to help clean and restore public sites during the downtime of the pandemic; many of them continue to do so. Earlier this month the Department of Corrections undertook the cleanup of an abandoned lot across from our international brand hotels in Garapan. The Saipan Mayor’s Office assisted with the cleanup of the debris and dead trees fronting Micro Beach. School groups conduct beach cleanups. What it requires is a willingness to take action.
And I must add, the problem of blighted properties is not just one of aesthetics. Over the last decade, more research has emerged on the negative impact of blight on residents’ health. The time to act is now.
Widespread blight is not an easy problem to address. It will require the collective action of pertinent agencies, organizations, and citizens. It will take a lead agency, the development of a plan based on best practices and our community values, and the investment of time and resources. But if there’s one thing our Marianas community has proven, it’s our ability to unite in overcoming challenges. We united to recover from Super Typhoon Yutu and other major storms, we united to keep each other safe during the pandemic, and I believe that if we unite, we can collectively make The Marianas a world-class destination desired by travelers across the globe, as the MVA is working to do. Among our top agenda items to accomplish that is removing blight. How can you help in your neighborhood?
I look forward to what can be done as we work toward a common goal of creating a home and a destination we can be proud of by “Making Tourism Our Business.”
Christopher A. Concepcion
