THE Marianas Visitors Authority wants to again ask China to grant the CNMI an approved destination status.
Acting MVA Managing Director Vicky I. Benavente said tapping the China market offers great opportunities for the tourism industry.
“I can’t speak for the governor, but I think our government has been in communication with the U.S. State Department on how to make it easier for Chinese tourists to come here,” Benavente said.
The CNMI filed its destination status application during Gov. Froilan Tenorio’s administration, but China did not approve it.
“If we have all the money in the world, we’d definitely do a lot of marketing there. But because of the fact that we’re not even an approved destination, we can’t do any advertising,” she said.
China, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Organization, has 10 million people projected to travel overseas next year.
“Imagine where…these 10 million tourists are going. Remember that it took Japan close to eight to 10 years to get to that number—10 million tourists. Now what are we going to do as a tourism destination?” PATA secretary and former Guam Sen. John Salas said in an interview.
Benavente said China’s non-approval had something to do with reciprocity and security.
“It’s a lot to do with reciprocity. What can the Northern Marianas do for the Chinese people when they come here. Also, it’s a security concern. We have to make sure that our security risks are minimized,” he said.
As a region, Micronesia traditionally gets 8 to 9 percent share of the average 10 million outbound Japanese tourists a year.
“They come to the region. Where they go is what the individual tourism bureaus are targeting,” Salas said.
This year, he said, Guam is targeting 1.3 million tourists, while Saipan aims to get 500,000.
Based on the recently concluded PATA quarterly conference on Saipan, island destinations such as Palau recorded a 3 percent growth in tourist arrivals.
