Bill increasing MVA board members to 11 gets Senate’s approval

In a rider to legislation affecting the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Senate on Friday approved a proposal to increase the number of board directors from the current nine to 11 members .

The two new directors will come from Rota and Tinian, with one additional representative each to the MVA’s policy-making body in an effort to boost representation by both island municipalities in the tourism industry.

If the plan included in HB 12-173 is approved by the House and the governor, the MVA board will again be controlled by political appointees rather than the private sector — contrary to the original intent when the agency was revamped two years ago from the defunct Marianas Visitors Bureau.

In 1998, lawmakers gave in to the wish of then newly elected Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to bring more private sector participation into the government tourism promotion by reducing the number of board directors appointed by the local chief executive.

From 14, the number was cut to nine, four of whom were to be designated by MVA members from the tourist-related establishments and the five — three representatives from Saipan and one each from Rota and Tinian — were to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Under the new amendment, seven board directors will be chosen by the governor — three from Saipan and two each from the two other islands, with the rest of four members picked by the private sector.

Likewise, the Senate also approved another amendment to create two new positions of deputy managing director — one each for Rota and Tinian.

There was no immediate reaction on the senators’ move which came as part of the pending bill seeking to empower MVA to regulate commercial activities on or near tourist sites. HB 12-173 heads back to the House for voting on the two new amendments.

In a report released during Mr. Tenorio’s first month in office and prepared by his transition team, re-organization of then MVB was a top agenda in a bid to strengthen promotion and marketing efforts by the CNMI.

The team had traced the problem of a weak tourism campaign to an executive order signed in 1994 by then Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio which bloated the board members to 14, nine of whom were all government appointees.

“This situation has had a negative impact on several critical areas of importance to MVB, not the least of which are its relations with key private sector groups,” the team said in its findings.

Because of the limited representation by the business sector in the board, MVB had lost much of the local sponsor program which was an important source of support in previous administrations.

The report had recommended to restore a “semi-autonomous status” to the bureau, giving majority of the board seats to the private sector and to develop a comprehensive marketing plan.

Under the law that created the public corporation now referred to as MVA, broader powers are given to the board aimed at stirring the sluggish tourism business as well as encouraging more private participation in the development of the half-a-billion dollars industry.

The 11th Legislature had maintained that chopping off the board composition from 14 to nine would provide the “efficiency and effectiveness” required in promoting local tourism.