Tinian Port manager Ignacio L. Perez told the Variety yesterday that the collection of the fee has been published in the newspapers earlier.
“Today is the first day of the implementation that’s why we are here to explain to the passengers, locals and tourists alike that they have to pay $2.25 per departure from the Tinian seaport if they are not guests of the hotel,” Perez said.
Perez added that the collection of the fee is an agreement between the CPA and the management of TDHC.
“We are still on the transition period and we expect various reactions on the collection of the fees but we hope the travelling public will understand,” he added.
Tinian Shipping chief officer Antonio Sunga, Jr. said that guests of the TDHC will have to get a voucher from the Saipan port prior to boarding the ferry for Tinian to be exempted from paying the fees.
“A receipt or voucher shall be provided to the passenger to present to the ferry cashier on Tinian, and if you don’t have a voucher you will have to pay the passenger fee,” Sunga said. He added that the Tinian ferry cashier shall not sell the ticket to anyone without a receipt of the passenger fee payment.
A ferry crew said even the ferry is not exempted from paying the departure fee. He said the ferry is charged as one person every time it leaves the port of Tinian.
One passenger who refused to be named said that the passenger fee creates a sting on the budget especially in this economic crisis.
“If you are a commuter from Tinian to Saipan this is an added inconvenience, and besides why implement this passenger fee now just when the price of gasoline went down?” the passenger said.
Last week, CPA published a notice in the newspapers signed by executive director Efrain Camacho informing the travelling public that designated CPA personnel will be directly collecting the fees from non-TDHC guests effective yesterday.
