In my previous opinion pieces, I have pointed out that the current CNMI administration hasn’t made any changes to prevent the legal entry of tourists from China.
This really got me questioning why the narrative by business groups and certain individuals has been to incorrectly blame the administration for the lack of tourists from China. It has not made much sense to me.
I arrived at the conclusion that they were not truly after tourists from China as much as they were after pro-PRC messaging from the administration. I still believe that is the case. It did however get me to wondering why the numbers are down.
Despite any personal reservations I may have, the CNMI continues to offer a unique visa-free entry program for Chinese tourists, a long-standing initiative.
Local business groups say they are keen to regain the Chinese tourist market, which was lost during the pandemic and from the PRC blacklisting due to casino gaming. Again, the CNMI lost the China tourist market during the last administration due to the pandemic and these same local business groups embracing casino gaming. It is so surprising to me that these groups haven’t significantly promoted the still existing, visa-free program over the past two years. Instead, their efforts have been focused, in vain, on attempting to secure pro-PRC statements from this administration.
Since the pandemic ended, the number of tourists traveling from China to the United States has steadily increased. Popular U.S. destinations for them such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, New York, and California all require visas. Chinese tourists must also transit through Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan before arriving at many of these U.S. destinations.
These U.S. destinations are significantly farther away than the CNMI and involve higher travel costs and expenses. This should give the CNMI a considerable advantage in attracting outbound Chinese travelers. Combined with our visa-free entry policy, we should be seeing an influx of Chinese tourists via Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Given this context, it's perplexing why Chinese travelers, who can enjoy visa-free entry into the CNMI, are not choosing to pass through Korea, Japan, or Hong Kong to reach us. Furthermore, it’s interesting that our business groups and tourism-focused organizations are not vigorously promoting our visa-free status and easy accessibility via one hop from these transit locations.
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It’s also confusing that our business groups and tourist organizations are strongly pushing for EVS-TAP. This program would surely end the current visa-free travel for tourists from China and replace it with a system requiring pre-screening, application fees, and waiting times.
The current visa-free travel was a product of the same EVS-TAP proponents just years prior. While I agree that enhanced scrutiny is necessary, again, I am puzzled as to why these groups are not more actively advocating for the single-hop ease of access provided by our existing visa-free travel policy.
It is important to note that rather than this administration making policy changes to restrict access to the CNMI by tourists from China, it is the business groups that developed, promoted and may successfully enact the EVS-TAP that will restrict the current visa-free access to the CNMI currently enjoys.
If these groups truly want to increase tourism from China, perhaps they could take some cost-effective actions. First, they could increase awareness by launching a targeted marketing campaign in China and transit countries (Korea, Japan, Hong Kong) highlighting CNMI's unique visa-free entry program. They could also strengthen partnerships by collaborating with airlines and travel agencies in these transit countries to streamline travel packages to the CNMI.
At the moment it is unbelievable that Hong Kong Airlines, which has been flying direct to Saipan for months, still does not indicate the CNMI as a destination on its website or allow direct bookings to the CNMI.
Engaging business and tourism groups in China to actively promote CNMI as an attractive and easily accessible destination is another crucial step. Lastly, leveraging digital platforms such as social media and travel websites popular among Chinese travelers could further spread awareness of the visa-free entry benefits.
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By taking these steps, they can better position the CNMI as a preferred destination for Chinese tourists and capitalize on the unique advantages of our visa-free entry program while it still exists.
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I am uncertain as to why these groups and individuals who are focused on the China market have not taken these steps. However, I can speculate on what may be a few possible reasons.
One possibility is that travel to the CNMI may still be restricted (directly or indirectly) by the Chinese government due to our Casino Gaming industry (or what's left of it). The CNMI was blacklisted a few years back, and it is unclear if this ban has been lifted. Many had warned these local business groups that casino gaming could have an adverse effect on attracting Chinese tourists when IPIH was making their push. Sadly, at that time they either sat silent or outright encouraged it. To emphasize again, the blacklisting and halting of tourists from China lies directly at the feet of the proponents of casino gaming, not this administration.
Another potential reason could be connected to self-interests within the CNMI that aim to corner the China market by not pushing for tourists to transit through Korea, Hong Kong, or Japan on known carriers. These groups might aim to ensure public sentiment drives a push for direct China-CNMI flights by stifling transit travel to the CNMI. These direct flights would likely be fully controlled by those interests. A direct flight owned and operated by a local tour company would enable them to fully capture the tourists' dollars at all levels - airfare, hotel, F&B, optional tours, etc.
A final reason could be the avoidance of enhanced scrutiny that would occur in transit locations like Korea, Japan, or Hong Kong on known carriers. This scrutiny might not exist in direct flights from China or may be more easily avoidable. Items such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs along with human trafficking victims could potentially have more success getting from China to the CNMI via direct flights that subvert the security of transit locations.
These reasons are just guesses at this moment. What is known is that no significant public push for Chinese tourists to legally take advantage of the existing visa waiver for China tourists via transit has been taking place. Instead,
a push for pro-PRC propaganda is being made along with a massive push strictly for direct flights from mainland China to the CNMI. I think that until and unless more restrictions such as EVS-TAP are put in place and visa-free travel is removed there should be no push for direct flights from China. The governor has shared this sentiment publicly.
Let us put an end to the misinformation suggesting that a pivot away from over-reliance on China for tourism is what caused the decline. This pivot is merely a sound business decision aimed at preventing a recurrence of our current situation. The decline in tourists from China to the CNMI is directly attributable to pandemic regulations, blacklisting due to casino gaming, and what seems to be a lack of effort by the business community to promote transit travel to the CNMI.
Glen Hunter is the CNMI governor's special assistant for Broadband Policy & Development. This op-ed is a personal opinion. Send feedback to glenhunter@gmail.com
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