Still no decision on China, Russia visa waivers

CNMI officials are still waiting for word from the Department of Homeland Security on the visa waiver program for Russian and Chinese tourists.

Although the decision was expected by Nov. 4, Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio said industry partners are anticipating a decision by the end of the month.

After President Bush signed into law legislation federalizing the region’s immigration system, CNMI and Guam officials with the Marianas Integrated Immigration Task Force presented a report to the departments of Homeland Security and Interior outlining the impact of Russian and Chinese tourists on the local economy. Guam officials are pushing for waivers for Chinese tourists, which would open a large new market to the island that currently relies on the Korean and Japanese markets.

China and Russia are critical to the future growth of the CNMI tourism market, the task force report notes.

The impact of losing visa exemptions that have let foreign visitors travel freely to the CNMI and Guam would be staggering, the report shows, costing the islands millions each year. Tourist spending in the CNMI for 2008 is projected to total more than $1 billion with the visa waivers in place, it says. Without them, that figure would drop to about $876 million.

Projected losses to the local tourism market without the waivers are even greater in the future. By 2010, the report says, tourism spending with the waivers in place would reach nearly $2 billion, but would sit at roughly $1.3 billion without them.

The CNMI has already invested $35 million to market itself in China, the report says, which has 36 million outbound travelers each year. Shanghai Airlines recently added charter flights to Saipan and Guangzhou charter flights will resume operation soon.

The Russian market continues to increase under the current immigration system. In October, 392 Russian visitors came to the CNMI—a 102 percent increase since October 2007, according to the MVA. While the number is small compared to other markets, Russian visitors tend to be upper-middle to high class and stay for more than a week at a time. Three new charters flights from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in eastern Russia will begin service at the end of the year, adding an estimated 450 visitors from Russia.