To make the CNMI more attractive to tourists, industry leaders are pushing for the creation of a public transport, mono-rail system, and more multi-lingual signs and tourist information.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s consider other forms of transportation services. Public transportation will be most helpful to tourists,\u201d said Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Charles V. Cepeda, chairman of the Ad Hoc subcommittee on tourism destination enhancement.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he said that multi-lingual signages must be installed at each of the air- and seaports and other sites to ensure customer-friendly facilities and sites.<\/p>\n
Languages should include Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Russian\u2014the MVA\u2019s primary target groups. <\/p>\n
Cepeda, who presented his panel\u2019s recommendation during Friday\u2019s Marianas Visitors Authority general membership meeting, said both public and private entities can invest in public bus service, inter-island car ferry between Saipan and Tinian, a mono-rail system or a \u201cSugar Train\u201d replica, and a gondola or tram ride to the top of Mt. Tapochau.<\/p>\n
These services, he said, would add significantly to the overall value of the CNMI as a destination.<\/p>\n
Further, Cepeda said there is a need to regulate the current taxi meter rates \u201cfor reasonableness\u201d or consider zoned rating structure to help improve customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important that tourists have freedom of movement in order to fully enjoy sites and attractions that the CNMI has to offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Right now, he said illegal taxi operations continue to proliferate on island, offering customers an irresistible rate of $3 per trip. <\/p>\n
PRICE GOUGING<\/p>\n
Cepeda said some tourists, especially first-time visitors, fall victims to price gouging.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrice gouging is a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This is due to lack of quality control in selling tour packages in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
To begin with, there is no certification of tour guides in the CNMI so there is no guarantee that tourists actually get the best or right information about the islands.<\/p>\n
DIRTY BEACH, ADULT ENTERTAINMENT<\/p>\n
Cepeda said that while the CNMI promotes itself as having white sand, clear water, and clean beaches, tourists actually find an unkempt beach, with trash all over the place and sewage getting flushed directly into the sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a big turnoff. How do we expect them to come again?\u201d asked Cepeda.<\/p>\n
Further, he said Paseo de Marianas, a newly constructed pedestrian mall in downtown Garapan, \u201chas a sidebar\u2014night clubs and adult entertainment shops.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a porn shop right in the corner of Paseo. Is this the kind of business we want there?\u201d asked Cepeda.<\/p>\n
He said Paseo needs to have a variety of stores that cater to families. These include music stores, bookstores, brand restaurants and cafes, high-end supermarkets, toy stores, and the like.<\/p>\n
Cepeda\u2019s subcommittee on Destination Enhancement, at the same time, recommended the following: prohibition of karaoke bars and strip clubs; relocation of adult establishments and game rooms to a zoned area; renovation of aging facades of buildings; development of a special zoning code in Garapan.<\/p>\n
Other projects for Garapan include grand redevelopment of largely underutilized government land\u2014the 80,000 square meter lot that is currently home to the Garapan Elementary School and some abandoned housing units.<\/p>\n
MVA\u2019s five-year strategic plan is based on its vision to make the CNMI an authentic tropical paradise, a popular destination known for its natural beauty and clean environment, rich culture, and a vibrant community.<\/p>\n
The plan takes into consideration the Fitial administration\u2019s goal of bringing in 1 million tourists in the CNMI a year by 2008.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To make the CNMI more attractive to tourists, industry leaders are pushing for the creation of a public transport, mono-rail system, and more multi-lingual signs and tourist information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}