The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands is asking the Senate and the House to pass a bill that seeks to charge passengers from non-U.S. destinations a new $15 \u201ctravel promotion fee,\u201d but asks that fees collected should go directly to the Marianas Visitors Authority instead of the general fund to help grow the tourism industry.<\/p>\n
HANMI represents hundreds of hotel rooms in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support the implementation of a $15 per person travel promotion fee on arrivals from non-U.S. destinations to fund the Tourism Incentive Program. We do not feel this additional fee will negatively affect the average visitor\u2019s decision to choose the Northern Marianas destination,\u201d HANMI board chair Nick Nishikawa and five other HANMI directors said in a letter to Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) and House Speaker Eli Cabrera.<\/p>\n
House Bill 17-179, House Substitute 1 passed the House in May, and has since been with the Senate.<\/p>\n
The bill seeks to amend a law signed in February, to expand the target market for the tourism incentive program to include \u201cAsian countries\u201d in addition to Japan, which was struck by disasters in March or a month after the original law was enacted.<\/p>\n
But Nishikawa and the other board members said it is imperative that the funds collected for this bill\u2019s purpose be given \u201cdirectly\u201d to MVA for the purpose of the Tourism Incentive Program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not support this revenue being collected under the general fund, as there is concern it would be diverted for other than the intended purpose, which is solely for the growth of our tourism industry. Furthermore, allocating this revenue directly to MVA will eliminate any delays in allotments, a challenge the tourism authority continues to face in implementing its programs,\u201d the HANMI officials said.<\/p>\n
Tourism is now the only major industry in the CNMI, after the total pullout of the garment industry. But tourist arrivals have been steadily declining. In June, for example, arrivals dropped by 17 percent compared to June 2010, attributed mainly to the negative effects of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan.<\/p>\n
MVA said there were only 23,604 visitors in June compared to 28,372 during the same month last year. Overall, visitor arrivals are down 5 percent this fiscal year to 251,992 visitors.<\/p>\n
House floor leader George Camacho (Ind-Saipan), author of HB 17-179, HS1, said yesterday he\u2019s hopeful that the Senate will pass the tourism incentive bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sure the Senate understands the CNMI\u2019s need for revenue and will pass the legislation. I just hope they can do it soon and not delay the process. MVA is waiting on that bill so that they can quickly promulgate the rules to get the program started,\u201d Camacho told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
But a copy of the Senate\u2019s scheduled Sept. 8 session agenda does not include the tourism incentive bill. The bill calendar has only the fiscal year 2012 budget.<\/p>\n
Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), chair of the Senate Committee on Resources and Economic Development, said in a separate interview yesterday that the panel will meet on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss this legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd from there, we\u2019ll know whether to recommend passage or not of the bill,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Fitial administration sponsored the original tourism incentive bill that became law. <\/p>\n
When a bill amending the tourism law was introduced, it contained the new $15 fee to be collected by airlines, besides expanding the target market for the tour agent incentive program.<\/p>\n
The law gives monetary incentives to travel agents who are able to bring in tourists from the Japanese cities of Osaka and Nagoya during so-called low peak periods. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan has prompted the CNMI to expand the target market, to include those from Korea and China and other Asian countries.<\/p>\n
Collections from this new fee will also be used to \u201crecover costs incurred for enforcement of customs and quarantine laws,\u201d the bill amending the law says.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers have always talked about passing revenue-generating bills and cut spending, but only a few actually get acted on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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