{"id":326937,"date":"2020-07-24T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=326937"},"modified":"2020-07-24T06:00:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T20:00:51","slug":"tan-pushes-quality-over-quantity-in-tourism-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/tan-pushes-quality-over-quantity-in-tourism-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Tan pushes quality over quantity in tourism approach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the CNMI\u2019s tourism industry at a standstill, it would be a good time for the Marianas Visitors Authority to recalibrate its approach to tourism markets\u2014this time for the CNMI to lure more tourists with higher spending power, according to Jerry Tan, who chairs the newly created Governor\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers.<\/p>\n

Speaking at Tuesday\u2019s regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Saipan at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, Tan, who used to be a member of the MVA board, is batting for a quality over quantity approach when it comes to choosing the CNMI\u2019s next tourist markets, especially now that the islands will soon be rebooting its tourist industry following months of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes with the recognition that most of the CNMI\u2019s tourists are not big spenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot think about quantity, we have to think about quality. We want quality tourists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tan said there\u2019s also no better time than now to spruce up the CNMI\u2019s tourist sites, considering that the pandemic has zeroed out the islands\u2019 visitor arrivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best time to clean up and upgrade is now because there are no tourists. It is not affecting them. We don\u2019t want to be renovating or constructing when they are here,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Before the MVA can do anything to upgrade the CNMI\u2019s tourist sites, however, the community should first know how to take care and maintain the infrastructure so the improvement won\u2019t go to waste, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about we do our own work? Take care of our sites on our islands first. Right now, it is unacceptable,\u201d said Tan, adding that the CNMI also needs a quality airport to make a good first impression on the first-class tourists it hopes to attract in the future. \u201cWe don\u2019t need a fancy or a big one but it has to be an airport product that would give a right and a good impression during their arrival and departure,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

This becomes doubly crucial because, after the pandemic, island destinations will be in great demand, according to him. <\/p>\n

With the right mix of government and private sector cooperation, Tan believes the CNMI has what it takes to improve its tourism marketability and ultimately become a world-class destination. <\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe that we can become a world-class island destination. Once we put our act together. Once we are committed to improving our sites, cleaning up, and keeping it safe. \u2026Quality tourists, quality investors, quality accommodations, and quality airport, we would have a successful economy and tourism industry because we would have a world-class destination,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The strides made by the CNMI in the tourism industry would help improve the local economy, as the public and private sectors would be able to create and maintain good-paying and secure jobs.<\/p>\n

Tan envisions the CNMI becoming a world-class destination in 10 years, which will require the effort of everyone in the Commonwealth. \u201cWe all have a role to play.\u201d <\/p>\n

A vibrant economy would then result in an improved way of life for the people of the Commonwealth. \u201cThe most important for me is quality of life. This all comes down to our residents in the Commonwealth,\u201d said Tan, who is also president of TanHoldings, the mother company of Saipan Tribune. (Chevy Alipio)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the CNMI\u2019s tourism industry at a standstill, it would be a good time for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":326190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326937","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}