Lawmaker questions MVA spending
Citing concerns the local tourism bureau’s overseas offices are under-performing, Rep. Joseph C. Reyes (R-Saipan), chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Tourism, is asking its staff to furnish him with a host of budget and staffing information for each one in a move apparently aimed at tightening oversight.
Reyes in a June 23 letter to the Marianas Visitor Authority, the agency tasked with boosting tourism in the Commonwealth, notes that as the government’s revenues have diminished recently, the Legislature has begun looking at the finances of all its independent agencies to crack down on unnecessary spending. Consequently, Reyes says the financing for the MVA’s offices in Japan and Korea must be examined.
“I am concerned that your overseas offices may not be generating the returns necessary to justify their operational expenses,” he writes. “With this in mind, I am requesting that you provide me with the name and location of each MVA funded office outside the CNMI, to include contact person, address, phone number, staffing, and annual budget amount.”
MVA managing director Perry Tenorio declined to comment on the letter, saying it is now being reviewed with board members. However, a response is expected soon, he said. Details on how much the MVA spends for its overseas offices were unavailable at press time.
In addition to questioning the MVA’s spending, Reyes urged tourism officials to do more to support locally owned tourist attractions.
“[T]here are several locally owned tourist attractions which are struggling to survive,” Reyes writes, asking whether the MVA coordinates with tour companies to draw new customers into the local tourism market.
“If tourists are not exposed to locally owned and operated attractions and businesses, we are missing a vital link to reviving our economy,” he writes.
