U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 7, 2021.
WHILE Gov. Arnold I. Palacios remains cautious about reopening the CNMI to Chinese tourists, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo believes that the restoration of the U.S. as an approved destination for travelers from China “is a significant win for the U.S. travel and tourism industry.”
She said it is also “an important step forward to promote the type of people-to-people exchange that is crucial for our bilateral relationship.”
Raimondo said China’s announcement “has been the culmination of months of hard work between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Before Covid, as many as 3 million Chinese travelers visited the United States annually, contributing more than $30 billion to the U.S. economy. We look forward to once again welcoming Chinese group travel to the United States,” she added.
Prior to Covid, China was the CNMI’s second largest tourism market after South Korea.
Last week, Palacios told reporters in a press conference that his position about the Chinese tourism market remains the same.
“We cannot continue to be reliant on the Chinese tourism market. If they come, that’s great,” the governor said.
“We can’t put all our eggs in that market,” he added. He said he was not saying that tourism activities from China need to stop. But at the end of the day, the governor said, “the geopolitical climate right now is very sensitive,” referring to the strained ties between the U.S. and China.
