Pacific Development Inc. and High International Standard are “confused” about the real intention of the government for imposing this fee.
Rota Mayor Melchor A. Mendiola also expressed his concerns, saying “it is not attractive.”
He said the fee will have negative impact on tourism because it is adding the cost of visiting the islands whose tourism industry continues to decline.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed Public Law 17-29 or the Japan Air Service Stabilization Program Fund that rewards tour agents $100 for every tourist they will bring in from Japan.
But a few days ago, Fitial came up with a proposed amendment to the law to impose a $15 travel and promotion fee on carriers for every arriving passenger whose original point of embarkation is any country other than the United States.
The purpose of the fee, the draft amendment said, “is to promote travel to the CNMI and to recover costs incurred for enforcement of customs and quarantine laws.”
PDI general manager Masanori Takahashi said he wants to see the governor’s proposed amendment.
He said he wants to study it and determine its intent.
A High International Standard staffer who requested anonymity said if the governor will impose a $15 fee for every visitor, the business of bringing tourists here “is going to be slower.”
He added, “How sure are we that this fee will not increase in the future?”
The CNMI government, he said, should understand that there are many other destinations that Japanese tourists have been visiting these days because they are not expensive and have many attractions.
These include Guam, Hawaii, Australia and the Philippines.
The staffer said the CNMI government should give Japanese travelers more reasons to visit the islands.
He noted that the promotion of the CNMI in Japan is not aggressive enough. Tourists from Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya see Guam, Hawaii and other destinations on television and on posters. They rarely see Saipan, Tinian or Rota, the staffer said.
There are TV programs in Japan in which the host travels to many tourist destinations — except Saipan, he said.
The CNMI government should be doing these types of promotions instead of imposing fees on the few tourists who still visit the islands, he added.
