Chinese tourists want longer shopping hours

Majority of Chinese tourists surveyed by students of the Northern Marianas College complain about Saipan’s short shopping hours and the dearth of stores and commercial establishments, especially on Tinian.

The results of the survey were presented in Sam McPhetres’ current issues class yesterday at the college’s As Terlaje campus.

The study said that, although almost all of the 214 Chinese respondents enjoyed their stay in the CNMI and would recommend it to their friends and family back home, majority of them felt Saipan needed more stores with extended shopping hours.

Saipan needs longer shopping hours, they said, because by the time they are through with their activities and would want to shop, all the stores are already closed.

The Chinese tourists surveyed also said Tinian should have more entertainment facilities other than the casino, because they believe the island has a lot of potential other than gambling.

Chinese respondents also said there should be more translators in the CNMI because language is a major barrier for them, preventing them from communicating with the locals.

They also said that transportation between Tinian to Saipan should also be improved and that there should be more direct flights from Saipan to key cities in China.

McPhetres said his class decided to the conduct the study as part of their contribution to the community and for the improvement and development of the tourism industry in the CNMI.

The survey was made and presented by a group led by Janice Santos.

According to class chair Zach Berger, the group chose to do the survey to gain more knowledge about the Approved Destination Status or ADS for the Chinese market.

He said they also tried to obtain not only the views of Chinese tourists but also the take of other tourists and the local community about ADS.

On the socio-demographic aspect of the survey, majority of the respondents were women. It was found that more Chinese women travel to the islands rather than men, with ages ranging from 35 to 39 years old.

The group also found out that majority of the Chinese tourists came from Guangzhou, followed by Shanghai and Beijing. Most of the Chinese tourists heard about the islands directly from their respective travel agents.

The class also found out that Chinese tourists prefer to stay on the island longer—from five to seven days. Most of the respondents were first-timers on the island. They said their trip to the islands was basically for recreational purposes, sightseeing, and cultural events.

The group also learned that Chinese tourists spend up to $6,000 on Tinian but only up to $5,000 on Saipan and $1,000 on Rota.

Rep. Martin Ada, House Committee on Commerce and Tourism chair, attended the presentation.

He said the CNMI could not accommodate all the Chinese tourists due to the size of the island and the limitations in hotel facilities. He said the findings of the NMC students would be very helpful to his committee when they deliberate on ways to improve the tourism and hospitality industry, not only for the Chinese market but the entire tourist market itself.

The Marianas Visitors Authority said there were at least 1,119 visitors from the People’s Republic of China as of March 2005; the total number of Chinese tourists that have visited the islands is 16,950.

The CNMI is projecting to attract at least 50,000 visitors from China this year. (Marconi Calindas)