To Gov. Arnold I. Palacios: I first wrote a letter to the editor titled \u201cNMI’S Tourism Problem\u201d in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago. It’s been several weeks since then, but nothing has changed so I’m writing again.\u00a0 I believe that you, Mr. Governor, will be the only one who can solve the problems of the Saipan tourism industry that need immediate attention.<\/p>\n
I presented three problems: Ma\u00f1agaha, north sightseeing site, and security issues in those areas.<\/p>\n
There must be something needed for Saipan to be chosen as a tourist destination versus Guam. The slingshot in Guam is not on Saipan.\u00a0 Many shopping malls in Guam are not on Saipan. Are tourists coming to Saipan or Guam to shop?\u00a0 I don’t think so. They come to enjoy the beautiful nature of Guam and Saipan. So Saipan has a big advantage.\u00a0 We have Ma\u00f1agaha Island and kind people on Saipan; these are the\u00a0treasure of the South Pacific.\u00a0 Only by taking advantage of these can we attract more tourists to Saipan. Ma\u00f1agaha is especially a treasure of Saipan.\u00a0 You have to take good care of this treasure.<\/p>\n
Diamonds are just stones when they’re underground. You have to grind it and shine it so that it becomes a valuable jewel. The same goes for Ma\u00f1agaha.\u00a0 We have to take care of it and protect it to make it valuable.<\/p>\n
There is a need for toilet facilities, there are too many flocks of birds on the island, and there is poor management of weeds and vines that cover the sandy beaches of Managaha.\u00a0The entrance fee has doubled compared to before the pandemic. To enter the island, each tourist pays $10.\u00a0\u00a0 I think there are\u00a0 at least 100 people or as many as 400 people entering Ma\u00f1agaha every day. That\u2019s at least $1,000, or at most $4,000. There’s going to be more and more.\u00a0 It is a considerable amount of money for each month. Of course, you can’t spend all of this money on Ma\u00f1agaha management, but shouldn’t you have more budget to create a clean and pleasant environment for tourists?\u00a0It won’t cost a lot of money to fix the shower.\u00a0 It’s just that no one cares.<\/p>\n
Many tourists go to Ma\u00f1agaha Island and complain. It smells like they are in a chicken cage. They are telling us they are not going to visit Ma\u00f1agaha Island again. Please, we have to do something about this.<\/p>\n
Can’t you use some of the funds to manage toilets in the northern part of the island? Can’t you allocate a little budget to the police station to increase morning patrols?<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, a tourist was robbed in Ladder Beach. They broke the window of the parked car and stole their wallet and passports. And in another incident a\u00a0few days ago, two local men opened the door of a tour van at Bird Island. Fortunately, there was a guide inside the car and they said they were looking for a lighter and left.<\/p>\n
There are\u00a0thieves\u00a0 in every country in the world. Perhaps heaven is the only place without those guys.\u00a0 But it’s the government’s job to control and curb it.\u00a0 You should install CCTV cameras in tourist attractions and increase police patrols so that they don’t commit crimes too easily.\u00a0 Otherwise, Saipan will no longer be recognized as a safe place.<\/p>\n
There are still many people who park illegally at the airport bus parking lot. Why do they park their cars in the bus parking lot, instead of public parking lot.\u00a0 Maybe they do not want pay the parking fee. Its only $2. We tour guides pay\u00a0 $100 every month.\u00a0\u00a0Why don’t the airport police give them a warning or issue tickets?\u00a0 I still don’t understand.<\/p>\n
Our Korean Tour Guide Association has about 40 members.\u00a0 We are handling package tours and Airtel guests that come into\u00a0 our island.\u00a0 Most guides have more than 10 years of experience. We’re on the front line, welcoming the spectators.\u00a0 We are well aware of the advantages and improvements needed in the Saipan tourism industry. Listen to our voices and use us.\u00a0 Regular and irregular meetings are welcome.\u00a0 We are always ready to advise on the development of Saipan tourism.<\/p>\n
I look forward to hearing from you. Please listen to our story. I beg of you. Let’s do this to beautify Saipan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Choi Yong-mook is chairman of the Korean Tour Guide Association.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To Gov. Arnold I. Palacios: I first wrote a letter to the editor titled \u201cNMI’S…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394970","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=394970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}