TONY Huang, a concerned CNMI resident, said the local tourism industry still needs visitors from China.
In an email on Wednesday, Huang said moving away from the Chinese tourism market “only hurts the CNMI.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios announced his intent to “pivot” the CNMI away from reliance on its second largest tourism market, China.
Palacios at the same time requested the U.S. military’s support “in seeking direct aid to replace the economic loss that we have experienced as a result of the CNMI’s pivot away from China.”
Huang said while the heads of every department in the CNMI government are complaining about the lack of funds, the CNMI is abandoning a major source of tourists.
He noted that Palau, which has no diplomatic relations with China, has welcomed Chinese tourists since direct flights have restarted on April 28.
Huang said the federal government can afford to block the sale of technology products to China but the CNMI does not have a technology industry, and depends solely on tourism.
He believes that to address its budget deficit, the CNMI should attract more tourists, including those from China, to come and spend their money in the islands.
“This is the right way to help the CNMI and the U.S. I hope someone can explain this to the governor and have him change his policy of refusing Chinese tourists,” Huang said.
In 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CNMI received a total of 17,121 tourists from Japan; 249,211 tourists from South Korea; and 185,526 tourists from China.
In 2022, there were 2,130 visitors from Japan; 76,456 from South Korea; and 186 from China.
