The Pacific Islands Club, in a survey, said visitors from Russia prefer Saipan than other U.S. destinations.
The survey also showed that 53 percent of PIC’s Russian guests will not visit any U.S. destination if they will have to obtain a U.S. visa.
Only 12 percent of the respondents are willing to apply for a U.S. visa to visit the CNMI again.
According to Russian travel agencies in Vladivistok, 95 percent of their clients prefer Saipan because it does not require a U.S. visa. Only 5 percent chose Guam, which is under federal immigration jurisdiction.
Vladivostok, a Russian Far East city, is the only potential market for the CNMI due to its relative proximity and positive word-of-mouth recommendations of its residents who have visited Saipan over the last 13 years.
PIC general manager Kieran Daly said there is a negative perception regarding the U.S. visa process among Russian tourists.
They believe it is difficult to obtain one, the process is time- and money-consuming, and the lack of a guarantee of success can be embarrassing.
Big spender
Over the years, the CNMI, as a visa-free destination, have gained the Russians’ love and loyalty due to its excellent climate, security and respectable level of service, PIC’s survey indicated.
The islands, Daly said, have become a desirable destination for Russia’s young people, families and senior citizens.
Saipan attracted its first Russian tourists in 1995 and it took over 10 years of marketing efforts “to develop the tiny flow of travelers into a market that solidly impacts the island’s local economy.”
Russian tourists are the third highest spenders in the world and this why many Asian countries have invested in the Russian market: Thailand, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have offered visa-free entry to Russian tourists.
Current trend
Daly said PIC witnessed a 34 percent increase in the Russian market compared to last year.
For the hotel industry, it is not necessarily the number of guests that matters, but the number of room nights spent, he said.
Although the number of PIC’s Russian guests is relatively small, they stay an average of two weeks, some of them even extend to one month or longer.
They have become PIC’s second biggest market next to Korean guests who normally stay three to four nights.
However, due to global financial crisis, Russians guests now tend to purchase cheaper packages, avoid peak season trips, and reduce the length of stay to 10 to 14 days.
Federalization’s impact
As a visa-free island, the CNMI attracted approximately 7,000 tourists out of a pool of 9.4 Russians who traveled abroad last year, the PIC survey stated.
There are only three cities in Russia with U.S. embassies or consulates where U.S. visas can be obtained — Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.
The required personal interview will obligate tourists from other parts of the world largest nation to travel to these three cities and pay not only the $130 fee but local hotels, meals and transportation.
Russia’s land mass is 1.8 times bigger than America’s.
The U.S. visa requirements are also complicated.
The rate of visa refusal depends on the Russia’s political relationship with the U.S., Daly said.
To date there are over 10,000 Russian travel agencies but only 50 of them specialize on travel to U.S., he added.
