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Beyond conventional markets
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Posted on Jan 31 2001
The Issue: The NMI must continue expanding its tourism market in nearby Asian countries.
Our View: The Asian Crisis should serve as a lesson that we can’t all our eggs on the largest basket.
It is well and good that the CNMI would travel to Taiwan to refine a business relationship, specifically, tourism. However dim the chances of tourism revival to a healthy level “as we know it” any time soon, the effort should pay off over the long haul.
The CNMI must also aggressively focus its efforts on the Republic of China’s tourism market. Indeed, there may be setbacks on the requirement of US visas and such should be pursued with appropriate US agencies to open-up more market sources.
It, however, requires a lot of leg work and we will never get there unless we take the proverbial first step. In other words, let’s do our homework given the lengthy process to get from point “A” to point “B”. And this work must begin forthwith.
In addition to working on new markets, the Government of Japan (for the first time) has begun a tourism policy designed for lateral interagency coordination with the appointment of an executive who would report directly to the prime minister. The new policy would promote regional tourism development, opening up opportunities for healthy exchanges amongst peoples of different communities throughout the global village.
Meanwhile, the CNMI must work on its own identity, an identity that is unique from current efforts to replicate all that neighboring Guam has to offer. It must wake up to the reality that it needs to promote the unique essence of its people, discouraging turning its hospitality industry into promoting–on a full-time basis–other cultural traditions while neglecting and suppressing its very own.
The industry can assist by opening its doors of opportunities to young talents who hail from the Taga Stone famous Isles of the Northern Marianas. Let’s start today!
