{"id":219728,"date":"2016-01-29T06:06:26","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T20:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=219728"},"modified":"2016-01-29T06:06:26","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T20:06:26","slug":"dont-put-all-eggs-in-one-basket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/dont-put-all-eggs-in-one-basket\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Don\u2019t put all eggs in one basket\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Republic<\/a>
Republic of Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. was the keynote speaker during the Marianas Tourism Education Council Tourism Summit yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan (Frauleine Villanueva-Dizon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carrying with him a renowned and trademark message of environmental stewardship, Palau president Tommy Remengesau acknowledged yesterday the universal problem of growing island economies attempting to maintain the balancing act of controlling impacts as they try to increase revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a common challenge every time you promote tourism,\u201d Remengesau told reporters during a press conference yesterday afternoon at the Hyatt Regency Saipan. \u201cTourism being the main industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president noted the tendency for promotional groups to concentrate heavily on their respective goals but that, at the end of the day, it came down to a matter of \u201cbalancing out\u201d markets, as one market can easily overtake another\u2014\u201cif there are no precautionary matters in place.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all realize the value of the Chinese market,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very aggressive. It\u2019s coming in, and it\u2019s a good thing. But every time it grows to a situation\u2014where it seems to be a sole provider or the sole market\u2014then that\u2019s not a healthy thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remengesau addressed Palau\u2019s recent cut down in Chinese charters flights to the island nation. He said Palau\u2019s tourist numbers would have hit 200,000 tourists\u2014numbers that heavily tax their infrastructure\u2014if they had not taken this route. \u201cPalau\u2019s sewer system is made to cap at about 200,000 to 300,000,\u201d said the president. And as they are still undergoing improvement and renovations to these, they \u201ccouldn\u2019t afford to reach that maximum ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, even with the cut-downs, the nation still reached a record high number of 160,000 tourists\u2014about 20,000 more than last year, he said. Palau is looking at new source markets, he said, like the European and North American market and travelers from Russia, Japan, and Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the history of the Micronesia and the region, we\u2019ve seen it happen,\u201d Remengesau said, where the region \u201crelied too much on Japan\u201d and \u201cit\u2019s bubble burst\u201d and \u201ceverything fell flat.\u201d <\/p>\n

The region has \u201clessons to learn\u201d from this, he said. \u201c\u2026You don\u2019t put all your eggs in one basket.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president also addressed the exit fees\u2014reported to about $50\u2014that Palau charges on tourist leaving the nation. He called this an important position to take to ensure they get \u201cthe right quality of tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho respect the environment and are willing to pay the environmental impacts fee,\u201d he said, noting that these fees help fund their protected area networks. The idea is, if they protect their marine protected areas, they protect the reason tourists come to Palau.<\/p>\n

Common challenges and casinos<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remengesau also met with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres yesterday to talk about the CNMI and Palau playing a major role in the region. He called issues faced by the CNMI, Guam, and Palau sometimes unique to each respective island but there were still domestic and regional challenges that they share. \u201cBecause we can have limited revenues, we can certainly tackle these problems efficiently by sharing our ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaipan is going through a challenge of not having enough contract workers to accomplish many of the construction projects. This is absolutely a similar situation in Palau. We have a lot of construction activities, a lot of capital improvement projects that are not being done on time because we don\u2019t have the labor force to complete them. We have a unique and common problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the topic of casinos, Remengesau shared with Torres the fact that some of Palau\u2019s congressmen have been on island to look at what Saipan\u2019s casino and gaming license has done to improve the islands, he said, calling this information critical to understand \u201cthe reality\u201d of the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple of years ago, Congress sent their representatives here to look at the casino legislation that Saipan was entertaining and since then it has been enacted into law and now we see the company here doing businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom what I\u2019m told, there is employment happening and there has been some good, immediate impact as a result of that investment being issued a license.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, it would be up to the people of Palau if casinos were to be allowed in the nation, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have taken a referendum and the message was very clear. But it\u2019s not say the issue would come up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless I know more about it, I continue to take the stand that Palau is not ready for it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Remengesau said investments that are arriving on Palau are geared toward ecotourism such as snorkeling, diving, and bird watching\u2014which is showing a surprise uptick\u2014along with water sports and catch-and-release programs. <\/p>\n

\u201cEcotourism seems to be a main target. As you know, we don\u2019t have a casino. There\u2019s no casino allowed in Palau. We don\u2019t have a golf course. It\u2019s really just the natural beauty of the environment right now that is the main attraction for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Environmental message<\/strong><\/p>\n

On his environmental message to world leaders, Remengesau said, \u201cResponsibility is the key word.\u201d \u201cWe are born to an island community that is blessed with the natural environment. But with it comes the responsibility to also care for it and to make sure we leave it the way it is as we found it.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is a matter of culture, traditions, and customs. \u201cWe are taught in our younger years that we have to respect the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something new that you have to legislate. It\u2019s actually a tradition,\u201d he said. \u201cMerely putting that into a policy by law is reinforcing the culture and the tradition of the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palau leads participating island nations and territories in the Micronesia Challenge\u2014where participating members are tasked with setting aside 30 percent of their near shore resources and 20 percent of their terrestrial resources for conservation by 2020.<\/p>\n

Palau has instituted the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, which is 80 percent of its total exclusive economic zone.<\/p>\n

The president said the latest statistics show that every member still needs to reach their target to accomplish that goal. This includes Guam, the CNMI, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. \u201cEveryone has made progress but I still think there is some things left to do to reach that target.\u201d<\/p>\n

US-island relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remengesau also stressed the need for a genuine partnership with their \u201cclosest friend\u201d the United States.<\/p>\n

Asked if the nation would balk at military training similar to the large-scale proposals planned in the CNMI, the president said they would welcome training with U.S. Coast Guard patrols, marine surveillance and environment, and aerial surveillance satellite monitoring. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause those are mutual benefits,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

As Palau\u2019s marine sanctuary\u2014roughly 600,000 square kilometers and roughly the size of France or the state of Texas\u2014they\u2019re biggest challenge is surveillance and enforcement. If water ocean exercises were conducted jointly with their small marine enforcement, it could be a \u201cwin-win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith one patrol boat and three small in-shore patrols, Palau finds it difficult to cover that whole area, Remengesau said. \u201cThis is a situation where Coast Guard and U.S. Navy vessels could play an important role\u201d in surveillance that would help stop illegal fishing and even illegal contraband.<\/p>\n

\u201cLord knows what\u2019s being also transported in those cargoes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Brought to the topic of the CNMI\u2019s own Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, he acknowledge \u201cextensive resources\u201d would be needed to realize its potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the CNMI\u2014by it\u2019s relationship\u2014is a lot closer to the U.S. to be able to forge an effective partnership. For us, the available technology is very important. You need satellite-monitoring technology, more than really the hardware. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have enacted laws to take those pictures and present them in court as evidence. You don\u2019t really need to catch those vessels red-handed. You can use those satellite pictures\u201d as evidence to prosecute.<\/p>\n

Remengesau also visited hundreds of students yesterday at the Pacific Islands Club during the Marianas Tourism Educational Council event, to further the environmental message.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisitors need to feel like they are safe\u201d and at home to experience culture and beauty of the islands. \u201cThat\u2019s something we have to plant in the minds of our students as early as possible,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the island culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

He came away pleased to see the event focus on range of fifth grade to senior high school students. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to wait until they are older to instill these values\u201d on the importance of protecting oceans and tourists, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carrying with him a renowned and trademark message of environmental stewardship, Palau president Tommy Remengesau…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":219803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[256,26,328,190],"class_list":["post-219728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-casino","tag-cnmi","tag-coast-guard","tag-natural"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219728","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\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}