Mañagaha is now off limits to other water sport businesses

The Department of Public Lands has issued notices to 20 businesses, telling them to stop picking up tourists on Mañagaha for parasailing, banana boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, or other water sports unless they are Tasi Tours or have an agreement with Tasi Tours, which has the exclusive concession rights to the famous tourist island.

Mañagaha, a world renowned snorkeling site, is visited by over 60 percent of all tourists who come to the CNMI annually.

Some of the businesses affected by the DPL notice said yesterday they would like the department to reconsider.

DPL Secretary Oscar M. Babauta said yesterday it’s unfair to Tasi Tours to allow other businesses to pick up tourists on Mañagaha for water sports, when Tasi Tours has a special recreational concession agreement with DPL.

DPL issued the notices from December to last week.

Babauta, in his letters to the affected businesses, cited a provision in the agreement for special recreational concession for Mañagaha, which states that “concessionaires shall have exclusive right to operate all commercial concessions on Mañagaha Island during the term of this agreement. The term ‘commercial concessions’ includes the right to.the conduct of tours on the island and from the island.”

The DPL secretary said only the concessionaire, or Tasi Tours, “can conduct tours on Mañagaha Island or from Mañagaha Island.”

“When tourists are picked up on Mañagaha Island to go on a marine sport tour, whether it’s parasailing, banana boating or the like, they are taking a tour ‘from the island’. If the tour is sold by a company other than the concessionaire, the concessionaire’s exclusive right to operate all commercial concessions on Mañagaha Island has been violated. It should be noted that this is regardless of whether the tourist is returned to Mañagaha or taken back to Saipan after the water sports tour,” Babauta said.

Ray Cruz, director of compliance at DPL, said they issued 16 letters to beach concessionaries with DPL permits and four other operators, for a total of 20 letters.

Babauta said that failure to comply with the notice could result in the revocation of DPL permits if they have one, or permanent ban from operating water sports on public lands, among other things.

In his letter, he said DPL expects and requires all persons to abide by the 1993 rule that says all commercial activities on Mañagaha Island “shall be provided by one concessionaire only.”

“We have sent this letter to all beach concessionaires and marine sports operators so that everyone will have a clear understanding of this rule,” he added.

Adonis Santos, president of Auto Marine Inc., said they hope DPL will reconsider.

“We don’t solicit customers on Mañagaha. They’ve booked the water sports with us so what we do is provide them parasailing, for example, and then give them time to relax before their next water sports so we drop them on Mañagaha, and pick them up later for their next activity. They pay $5 on Mañagaha,” Santos said.

Santos said Auto Marine Inc. has been in operation for 16 years and this is the first time that they’re told they can no longer pick up their customers from Mañagaha for water sports.

DPL’s Babauta said these businesses need not lose revenue because they can still provide the same water sports activity services to the same tourists, but not when they’re already on Mañagaha.

“They can provide the water sports activities before or after the tourists go to Mañagaha,” Babauta said.

Santos said they have complied with the DPL notice since they received it on Jan. 5, but this has been affecting the tourists who now have to do all the water sports in succession instead of having relaxation time on Mañagaha in between water sports.

When it rains, for example, some tourists put off doing any water sport and stay on Mañagaha while waiting for the weather to clear up. When the rain stops, they are picked up from Mañagaha for their chosen water sports. That was before DPL issued the notice.

“It will be difficult for tourists and us,” said Santos, whose Auto Marine Inc. offers parasailing, sea walker, banana boat ride, snorkeling and Mañagaha transfer services since 1996. He said they have an average of 80 customers daily, mostly Japanese, Chinese, and Korean tourists.

Cora Pangelinan, co-owner of Island Marine Sports Inc., said even before DPL issued written notices, they had already received verbal notice as early as April 2011.

“We’re the first victim of that policy,” she said, adding that they have complied with the policy anyway.

Effective Sept. 1, 2006, Tasi Tours’ concession rights to Mañagaha Island was renewed for 10 more years.

At the time, Tasi Tours already paid its concession fees for the first five years, totaling $1.5 million.

Mañagaha Island sits at the entrance of Tanapag Harbor frequented by tourists from Japan, South Korea, China and other places. It is also a favorite weekend destination among local residents for its pristine beaches and cultural significance.