GOVERNOR Juan N. Babauta says he will urge a U.S. Department of Commerce delegation to include the Northern Marianas in the federal government’s tourism marketing efforts in the Pacific area.
Babauta said the two-day visit of the Department of Commerce officials headed by Assistant Secretary Samuel W. Bodman will allow the CNMI to articulate its tourism industry’s needs to the federal government.
Bodman will arrive in the commonwealth on April 20.
The Commerce delegation will also visit Japan to sign an agreement to bolster the tourism industries of Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia and the Northern Marianas.
Babauta said the CNMI was invited to attend the signing ceremony which will be held this Saturday in Tokyo. Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio will represent the CNMI in the event.
Babauta is pleased that the U.S. delegation will finally visit the commonwealth. Babauta, while still the CNMI’s Washington representative, urged federal officials to include the CNMI in their trade missions.
