“Anytime, you have additional competition, definitely, it will have some effect,” Tom Liu, general manager of Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, told the Variety over the phone yesterday.
Russia and China are not included in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program which took effect on Nov. 28, 2009.
Russian and Chinese tourists, however, can visit the CNMI through the U.S. Department Homeland Security’s discretionary parole authority.
Tinian Dynasty has been chartering flights between Saipan and two key cities in China to fill its rooms with guests.
Tinian Dynasty charters flights between Saipan and Guangzhou through China Southern Airlines and Saipan and Shanghai through the Shanghai Airlines.
China Southern Airlines will begin anew its latest round of charter flights to Saipan late this month using an A-330 aircraft which can seat 260 passengers.
Liu said business is still low but that doesn’t stop them from working on breaking new potential markets for their hotel and the CNMI.
“The number of tourists is low. Their spending power is not as great as it used to be,” he said.
Guam also wants to admit visitors from China and Russia through Homeland Security’s discretionary parole authority.
