Michael D. Merner, of Marketing Garden Ltd. and MVA’s managing director for Japan, said this was the conclusion of the informal survey they conducted with 10 top travel agents in the country.
“We’ve asked all of our major travel agent partners in Japan. Do they think that Saipan should have casino? The overwhelming answer is no. The reason for that is because they view Tinian as having the casino product. And being part of the CNMI, we already offer that product on Tinian,” he said in an interview yesterday after the conclusion of MVA’s general membership meeting at the Saipan World Resort.
The Japanese tour agents said their clients believe Saipan should not be turned into an “over commercialized” destination like Guam or Hawaii.
“And they feel that it’s important that Saipan…keep its position as a natural paradise and that doesn’t fit the casino image,” said Merner.
Casino is not one attraction that Japanese tourists would like to see on Saipan, he added.
He said the CNMI has a great reputation among Japanese because of its natural beauty.
“The CNMI as a destination has a great reputation…not so much for the quality of the infrastructure and not so much about the restaurants — nature is really its selling point,” he explained.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, introduced two bills to legalize casino on Saipan.
They remain pending in the House of Representatives.
