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‘Goal is to complete tourist spot rehab before visitors return’
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Posted on Oct 20 2020
File photo shows the Bird Island. (Contributed Photo)
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said the government, non-government organizations, and private sector have been doing a lot of revitalization projects at several tourist spots even during this COVID-19 pandemic, with the ultimate goal of having the sites up and running before tourists come back to the CNMI.
Speaking at a radio briefing last week, Torres said he is thankful to NGOs and the government’s private partners for their five-year commitment to what’s being called “Public-Private Partnership,” bringing their staff and their families not just to renovate tourist sites but also to clean around the islands.
“It’s doing very well,” said Torres, who cited some of the visual reconstruction or remodeling that had already been done on the Beach Road Pathway.
“We are working on the Grotto, the stairs. We do have other projects. The Forbidden Island [project] is done,” he said.
On Rota, the Valentino Hotel group and some other NGOs have committed to help revitalize tourist sites in the CNMI’s southernmost island, Torres said, and that they are working on Tinian’s tourist sites as well.
The “Public-Private Partnership,” an initiative of the Governor’s Economic Task Force that Torres co-chairs with TanHoldings president Jerry Tan, is driven by the ultimate goal of transforming the CNMI into a world-class tourist destination. “And they are working on revitalizing, remodeling and fixing up our tourist sites. They are working on it and I hope that in the next month or so, you’ll see more of those sites ready up and running,” Torres said.
The governor said each project varies on what needs to be done, so the timeframe for each project also varies. For example, the Grotto requires just fixing up the stairs and some other stuff. The Bird Island project, on the other hand, is going to take a little longer because there’s an actual bigger plan for that, Torres said. That means changes could happen in as little as the next couple of months for the smaller projects.
He also thanked the support of the private sector and their families who share their free time to work on these projects on weekends.
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