Aqua Resort Saipan general manager/sales and marketing Hiro Sugie told the Variety all businesses on island will be affected by the federalization of immigration, which is set to take effect in November.
“We will have to double our efforts to boost our promotions and entice more visitors from the other countries like Korea, Japan and other markets to make up for the slots that will left by these two markets,” Sugie said, referring to China and Russia.
The loss of these markets will not go “unnoticed,” he added.
Sugie said Russians and Chinese make up about 15 to 20 percent of the hotels’ occupancy rate.
“With this global economic depression, this is a big percentage, and the impact would not be soft,” he said.
He added that these markets, especially the Russians, bring in a lot of revenue to hotels.
Sugie said Russians spend a significant amount on food, amenities and souvenir items.
They also stay longer on island compared to other visitors.
In a recent report, MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio said the exclusion of Russia and China from the visa waiver program will mean a great loss for the islands’ economy.
Tenorio said tourists from China have been visiting the CNMI due to various promotions.
The CNMI, he added, gained $9.9 million in exposure value in China through familiarization tours.
The CNMI also gained exposure in Russia through the Vladivostok charters, the volume incentive program, the children’s summer campaign and about $700,000 exposure value through familiarization tours, Tenorio said.
From January to May this year, MVA said there were 5,001 arrivals from Russia, and 18,587 from China.
MVA said these two markets represent 11 percent of total arrivals and 18 percent of expenditures.
