Although it is not a fully protected marine reserve, the monument is one of the world’s largest protected areas. This in itself is not something that will attract tourists to our shores. We have to give people a reason to want to visit the monument and our islands.
Saipan could sell itself as “The Gateway to the Mariana Trench.” The stores in Garapan could sell t-shirts that read, “I dove the Marianas Trench.”
Maybe one day submersibles could take tourists to the underwater eruptions off the coast of Rota.
This will require a lot of work, and communities, businesses, and the government will have to contribute to the change.
One of the first steps towards this rebranding is for the federal government to build a Marianas Trench Marine National Monument visitors center. Half museum/half aquarium, the visitors center could and should be one of the premier tourism destinations in the Pacific.
I hope that our leaders on Capital Hill and in Washington, D.C. are working with the federal government to bring the visitors center to Saipan.
ALEXIE ZOTOMAYOR
Chinatown, Saipan
