During the meeting in the House chamber with the governor, the Marianas Visitors Authority and tour agents on Wednesday, Tenorio chided MVA for claiming that the Japan Airlines pullout more than four years ago caused the decline in visitor arrivals.
Tenorio said JAL pulled out because not a lot of tourists were visiting the islands, and that’s the problem that should be addressed.
MVA is proposing to provide monetary incentives to tour agents, which will cost $6.2 million.
Tenorio said it may be better to provide the incentives directly to the tourists.
This can be done by urging tourist-oriented establishments and other businesses to give tourists 10 percent discounts on all items and services once they come here for the second time.
The more frequent they visit the islands, the more discounts they will get, the former governor said.
Tenorio said it is important that businesses should participate in the government’s effort to revive the tourism industry which peaked during his term as governor.
Guam and Palau, he noted, are tough competitors, “so we have to make the cost of coming here cheaper than those two destinations.”
Triple J’s Bob Jones said businesses may be willing to give such discounts to returning tourists, but the problem is how to get them to visit the islands.
This is why he supports the idea of providing incentives to tour agents so they can aggressively promote the CNMI.
The CNMI cannot afford not to spend for promotions, he said
Former MVA Managing Director Vicky I. Benavente, who now works for the Pacific Islands Club, said the governments of Guam and Palau are spending money to promote themselves.
It is necessary to spend more money to help the CNMI’s tourism industry, she added.
MVA told the governor and lawmakers on Wednesday that air service from Japan to the CNMI will soon hit the “death valley period.”
This is from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15 when no flights from Osaka and Nagoya will come to the CNMI.
