Bateman takes marketing role at the MVA

Bruce Bateman, a 30-year veteran of the marketing business, has taken a new job as the Marianas Visitors Authority’s marketing manager at a time when tourism officials are eyeing some new locales to promote the CNMI as a travel destination. One hint: think “down under.”

MVA has lacked a marketing manager since the departure of Bateman’s predecessor, Wayne Pangelinan, more than nine months ago, a vacancy that came amid the office’s efforts to revive the CNMI’s tourism industry after a noticeable downturn. Yet with visitor arrivals numbers suggesting tourism here might be the path towards a slow recovery, Bateman says there is reason for optimism.

“I’m bullish about this,” he said. “Yeah, tourism has been down but only by about 20 percent and we’re looking forward to bringing it back to a level around where it was a few years ago, if not higher.”

The arrival of new charter flights to Saipan from Shanghai, a similar deal in the works to draw flights from Russia and the recently unveiled plan to construct a new resort on the north end of the island, he added, are signs this could be possible.

However, a key obstacle might be the pending federal takeover of local immigration rules and the establishment of a joint Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, which will let foreign visitors from pre-approved nations enter the country without a visa.

Tourism officials have long said this program could prove problematic if the federal officials crafting it forego the inclusion of Russia and China, two vital markets for the CNMI. Bateman said this prospect puts added urgency on MVA’s efforts in those nations ahead of the program’s start.

“We’re going to work those markets until we’re told to stop,” he said, adding that MVA has put together “escape plans” to adopt if the program blocks access to major markets. “But, without question, that is completely out of our hands.”

Yet those escape plans—which he said will go ahead with or without new visa limits on the tourism industry—hold the potential to open a completely new tourism market in the CNMI: Australia and New Zealand, he said.

“Well, it has to be in places that are within a reasonable flying distance and have a large enough middle class who can afford to travel here,” he said. “Australia, New Zealand, they would fit that description”

Recent political turmoil in places like Bali, Indonesia, a common destination for Australian travelers, could give the CNMI an edge when it comes to competing for tourist dollars, he added.