MVA tourism office in Hong Kong proposed

Marianas Visitors Authority Board Chair Dave M. Sablan yesterday said he will push for the establishment of the tourism agency’s representative office in Hong Kong during a board meeting next month to prepare for the expected arrival of visitors from China.

Despite the restrictions imposed by the Department of Labor and Immigration on the entry of visitors from mainland China, Mr. Sablan is still optimistic that the issue will be resolved soon.

If setting up a representative office is not financially feasible, MVA may just hire a company that will carry out the promotional campaign of the CNMI in Hong Kong, he added.

In the meantime, the tourism agency can concentrate on its marketing campaign in Hong Kong to lure Chinese tourists from the former British territory to visit the Northern Marianas.

“While we’re trying to fix the entry of more visitors from mainland China, we should begin the task of enticing those with U.S. visa to come here and take a look at our islands,” he said.

According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, some 45,175,166 people from mainland China left their country in 1999 alone. A travel data record from China Travel Services revealed that 221,196 traveled to the United States in 1998. In 1999, outbound travels from China reached 53,143,675, of which 219,114 were to the United States.

Tourism officials have been eyeing alternative markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and China for the CNMI in a move to revive the ailing tourism economy which has been badly shattered as a result of the regional crisis.

Earlier, MVA officials met with the travel agents in Guangzhou where they discussed the possibility of bringing in tourists from mainland China. A group of travel agents from Guangzhou also conducted a familiarization tour as part of the CNMI’s effort to entice tourists from the Asian country.

The board chair has asked Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to adopt the procedure followed by the U.S. Consulate in China in processing the travel documents of Chinese nationals who travel to the United States.

In a move to facilitate the entry of selected Chinese nationals into CNMI, Mr. Sablan recommended to the governor to allow the initial entry of visitors from Guangzhou on a trial basis.

Currently, the CNMI government allows Chinese nationals only with a valid U.S. visa to visit the island. Hong Kong residents are not required to present authorization to board when they travel to the Northern Marianas. The CNMI is not yet an authorized destination for nationals of mainland China.