Rep. Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, said there is very little chance that the U.S. will be persuaded to grant the CNMI’s request to waive the U.S. tourist visa requirement for Russians and Chinese who want to visit the Marianas.
“This is one of those times that we’re going to be affected by the political relationship of the United States with Russia and China. It is going to hurt us economically,” he said in an interview yesterday.
The CNMI does not impose strict rules on the entry of Russian and Chinese tourists, but this will change when federal immigration law is extended to the islands beginning on June 1, 2009.
Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, only 34 countries are included in the visa waiver program — China and Russia are not on the list.
Russian and Chinese tourists who want to visit the islands must apply for a U.S. visa at the American embassies in their countries.
Tour operators and other businesses serving the Russian and Chinese travel markets believe it would be very difficult for tourists from these countries to get a U.S. tourist visa.
Statistics from the Marianas Visitors Authority showed that 6,178 Russians visited the islands in FY 2008 while 31,095 Chinese arrived during the same period.
Benavente said Russians are considered the “big spenders” by the local tourism industry.
“They stay longer, usually 10 to 12 days and they spend a lot of money in our economy,” said the lawmaker whose wife used to head MVA.
Japan remains the top tourism market of the islands although only one international airline — Northwest — is providing direct flight service between Tokyo and Japan.
A lot of major hotels, particularly, the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, are pinning their hopes on the emerging Chinese tourism market to survive these hard economic times.
Benavente said some companies’ have charter flights from different parts of China to Saipan and are worried about the impact of the changes on the islands’ immigration policy.
